


The Apartment

by Fairylights4672



Category: the maze runner
Genre: AU, F/M, M/M, Slice of Life, Slowwww burn, The boys live together, after college, drama ensues, minhos a player, newts deaf, not much action soz guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2019-11-04 20:18:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 67,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17904941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fairylights4672/pseuds/Fairylights4672
Summary: Sorry this chapters quite short, I’m travelling at the moment <333





	1. One

Minho got there first. He immediately found the largest room and moved his things in.

He was about half way through unpacking when Newt arrived.

“Hey!” Minho grinned. The blond waved back with a large smile. He signed out ‘how are you’ to his new roommate, and Minho replied with ‘well.’

They learnt each other’s names, and Minho went back to unpacking.

Newt chose the smallest room, claiming he didn’t have much to put in there, and so it didn’t take him long to move his things in. In fact, he was done so quickly he started to help Minho.

By the time they were done and planning what to do for lunch, Thomas arrived.

They exchanged names, and Thomas immediately knew it was going to be difficult to communicate with Newt, so he asked Minho- he had a deaf cousin- to help him learn sign language, to which he readily agreed. Newt beamed at his readiness to learn, not many people put in the effort.

Thomas moved in to the second largest room, as the others decided to order pizza for for lunch.

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon, when Newt was putting away the leftovers for their fourth roommate, that he arrived.

Gally was quiet, nodding to his roommates before slipping into the last room. He only carried a few bags with him, and Thomas thought he was a little suspicious. Newt reassured that he’d probably be a lot better when they got to know him. But, Newt loved everyone.

It wasn’t until the evening, that they all sat down and properly got to know eachother.

“So my names Minho, in case you forgot. Uh- I’m twenty seven. I like- I like noodles a lot. And parties.” He shrugged, signing it out as he went for Newt.

“I like parties too” Thomas smiled.

“Nice.” Minho grinned.

“Yeah, my names Thomas.” Thomas said, trying his best to not talk too fast, so Newt could follow along. “I’m twenty six, I like- I like pizza and parties. But also, dogs. I almost didn’t come cuz the lease said no pets.” He laughed. Minho scoffed a little, and Newt giggled.

“I’m Gally.” Gally murmured. The man was very quiet from what they’d seen, but Newt concluded that there were just shy people and that was ok. “I’m twenty nine, and I like reading.”

Newt perked up, signing something out excitably. They turned to Minho.

“He says he loves to read.”

“Oh cool.” Gally said softly with a small smile. Newt grinned and began to sign out his introduction.

“My name is Newt, I’m twenty four and I love reading, and dogs. And noodles.” Minho translated. They laughed at that.

“Right when does everyone work?” Thomas asked. “I was thinking, maybe we should make a router. Who does the cooking, who does the cleaning and stuff. Depending on whenever you work.” He said.

“I work nine till four at that game shop downtown.” Gally muttered. Thomas nodded a little and wrote it out on his phone.

“I’m eleven till three.” He murmured, scrunching up his nose at the thought of his job. Newt signed out, “where do you work?” Minho asked.

“As a waiter at that stupid diner. I hate it.” He huffed.

“I’m a hairdressing apprentice, one till six baby.” Minho grinned.

“I wouldn’t have guessed, from the immaculate styling.” Thomas scoffed, and his roommate grinned wider.

“My pride and joy.” Newt smacked his arm, and Minho watched him for a moment. “Newt works at the corner bookstore, seven till two.”

“Seven? That’s a rough start.” Thomas noted, writing it down. Newt made a face of disgust and nodded.

“Ok, what is everyone good at?” Minho asked. “We need someone who can cook, someone who doesn’t mind cleaning. What else?” He frowned.

“I think that’s it really. But I think, maybe-“ Thomas frowned and looked down at the times each were out. “Maybe, Newt, can you clean? You get home first in the day, and you have one hour. When I get home, I could help you? It’d only have to be maybe twice a week?” Newt nodded readily, ‘sounds good!’

“I can cook I guess.” Gally murmured. “I’m ok”

“Ok,” Thomas nodded and wrote it down. “Minho, What can you do?” He asked.

“Uhh- I could- cook maybe. I mean, I get in the latest, but if Gally needs help I can.”

“I’d like that.” Gally murmured.

“Ok sounds good.” Thomas smiled. “Sorry, I don’t want to come off as bossy or anything. I just think, well, we should have some order y’know? Or everything will go to shit.”

His new roommates nodded.

-

The first few days, they didn’t see much of each-other. It was rare that they were all in the apartment at the same time, and if they were, Gally was locked away in his room. Minho went partying when he wasn’t too tired, and Newt much preferred curling up on the couch and reading quietly. It was harder for Newt to communicate when Minho was out as it was. However, Thomas was trying his best to research ASL. What made it even more difficult, was that he learnt that Newt was British. He’d grown up in Britain, obviously learning BSL, so when he came to the US and had to learn a different form of sign language, he ended up using a mixture of both. Which meant Thomas had to learn both, and he was not a fast learner.

Despite Thomas’ annoyance at his lack of speed when it came to learning, Newt repeated that it was ok, that him wanting to learn was kind enough.

“It’s the least I can do. You are my roommate after all.” Newt shrugged, and wrote that not many people had been kind enough to try.

They had a pad of paper with them each, making communication easier with Newt when Minho wasn’t around. Which was surprisingly often.

-

Newt showed up at Thomas’ work a few weeks after they first moved in. Thomas immediately took his break and sat down with Newt.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, sloppily signing as he went. Newt just laughed softly and pulled out a pad of paper, scribbling quickly before turning it towards Thomas.

‘Can’t I come see my favourite roommate whenever?’

Thomas scoffed back and wrote,

‘Favourite? I’m honoured’

‘Well, you haven’t got much competition. I’ve seen Gally approximately three times in the past five weeks, and Minho’s never home. When he is I can tell how loud he’s being with the girls he brings home’ Thomas laughed softly.

‘They’re not so bad. Well, Minho’s not. I’m not a fan of Gally.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t know. There’s just something off about him, I think. He creeps me out, I don’t think he likes me.’

‘Maybe you should talk to him? Get to know him a little better?’

‘I could but I never get a chance to speak to him for longer than twenty seconds.’

‘I think you can do it. If you try.’

‘I guess I could make the effort.’ Thomas sighed over-exaggeratedly, slumping in his chair. Newt grinned at him, and turned the pad back towards him.

‘This diner seems nice. Why don’t you like it?’ Thomas pulled a face.

‘The people here are all disgusting. It doesn’t pay well and I get treated like shit. The list goes on.’

‘Are you looking for other jobs?’

‘I was, but I gave up. No one really was a fan of me.’

‘I’m sure the bookstore I work at would be happy to have you!’

Thomas chuckled at Newt’s enthusiasm.

‘That’s very sweet of you Newt. You really think so?’

‘Definitely! My managers the sweetest old lady ever, she’d be happy to have you. Even if it were just for the company.’

‘Well then I guess I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you Newt.’

‘It’s alright. Anything for my new friend :)’

‘How are you so positive all the time?’ He asked fondly.

‘What’s the point in being sad? Just wastes time where you could be being positive.’

‘I suppose. I wish I had your attitude to life working at this dump.’

‘I’m not sure I could maintain my positivity if I worked here Tommy. I’ve been here for twenty minutes and the atmosphere is bringing me down! How do you survive??’

‘I ask myself that a lot. The only thing keeping me going is the stupid shit that goes on around here.’

‘What happens?’

‘Jesus, you should be asking what doesn’t happen. Last week, someone walked in here on roller skates, demanded everything in the cash register. He didn’t have a gun, so we said no, and then he tried to get up on the table to yell or something, but I guess he’d never used roller skates before cuz he fell and broke his back.” That got a laugh out of Newt. Newt’s laugh was a little odd- Thomas supposed it was because he couldn’t hear it- but it was endearing all the same.

Newt glanced at the time and scrunched up his nose.

‘I’ve got to go.’

‘Ok. Thanks for coming in today. It’s looking forward to things like this that make this job not so bad.’

‘Aw!’

-

“Any chance you’re coming home tonight?” Gally asked as Minho walked through the door.

Newt and Thomas were out, so Gally had seen it safe to venture out into the living room and onto the couch.

“I’m not sure I’m up for partying tonight. Knackered.” His new roommate ran a hand over his face.

“Welcome to our world.” He grumbled.

“What does that mean?” Minho frowning, slumping in the chair next to him.

‘You. Every time you come home with a new girl, none of us get any sleep.”

“I’m not that loud.”

“Yes, yes you are. These walls are thin Minho. You need to quiet down or go back to her place. Newts got to get up at six in the morning, some of us actually need sleep.” Minho grumbled.

“Fine. I’m sorry. I’ll be more considerate.”

“Thank you. That is appreciated.’ He nodded.

“You’re very talkative all of a sudden.’ His roommate pointed out.

“Well, the lack of sleep has me at my wits end.” He shrugged.

“Just unusual to see you out of your room.’ He shrugged, ignoring the comment.

“Thomas and Newt are out, so I figured I’d take the TV. I wasn’t expecting you to be home so soon.”

“Well I’m sorry to ruin your private time.’ Minho shrugged a little, clearly not that sorry because of the lack of movement he made to leave Gally to his private time. “What are you watching?”

“Queer Eye.” Minho raised an eyebrow.

“You like Queer Eye?”

“Yes. An issue with that?” He grumbled.

“No, I just thought you’d be more into- like- watching satanic rituals or something.”

“Just because I don’t talk much, doesn’t mean I’m a satanist.” He sighed.

“And I’m not saying it does. I’m just saying- you have those kind of vibes.”

“Thank you” he rolled his eyes.

“So where are Thomas and Newt?” He asked.

“Thomas is at work, and Newt said something about going to see him- I think. The signing was fast.”

“Well I can’t think of anywhere else he would have gone.” He shrugged.

“It’s Newt. Probably to buy flowers and hand them out to every creature on the street.’ Minho scoffed slightly, then frowned.

“Why would he do that?”

“Jesus, you really haven’t been around here a lot. Have you not noticed how positive and soft Newt is?”

“I mean I guess.” He shrugged. “I kinda need to get to know you all better.”

“Yeah no shit Sherlock.” He rolled his eyes. “Why are you going out clubbing so much anyway?”

“It’s fun.’ Minho shrugged.

“I mean I beg to differ but ok.” Gally made a noise of disagreement.

“They are. You get to dance, flirt, drink.”

“Avoid your new roommates that you should be getting to know.” Gally added to the list.

“I’m not avoiding you guys. I just don’t want to lose contact with my friends.’

“Minho, that is exactly what you’re doing. Look, I know that it’s hard moving in with three people that you’ve never met, and it’s hard to make new friends, but we don’t bite. You’re not going to lose contact with your other friends, wether you go out every single night or not. Why is it such a bad thing to make new friends with us?”

“It’s not.” He insisted. “It’s just, y’know. You’re not my friends.”

“Doesn’t mean we couldn’t be if you gave us a chance.” Minho stared at him with a frown, before sighing.

“Ugh Fine. If it makes you happy.’

“Oh it won’t. I’m doing this for Newt.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t say no to that face.’


	2. Two

Gally sat down in living room, headphones on. Thomas was spread across the couch, scrolling through some website on his laptop.

“Hey, Gally.” Thomas tapped him on the arm, and Gally took his headphones off with a small sigh.

“Yeah?”

“I was looking at some ASL classes, in the city.”

“Cool.” Gally nodded.

“Maybe we could go to a few?” He suggested.

“Sure.” He nodded again. Gally had been learning on his laptop, YouTube being a useful tool, but he supposed a few classes would be helpful. Thomas set his jaw.

“I mean, even though Min’ can teach us, he’s not here a lot so it might be helpful.”

“Yeah.” Gally nodded again. Thomas sighed and turned to face him.

“You’re not easy to have a conversation with, you know that?”

“Sorry.” Gally said. He wasn’t sure what Thomas wanted him to do about it, he just wasn’t very talkative.

“Jesus.” Thomas rolled his eyes and turned back to his laptop. Gally just frowned a little and put his headphones back on. Thomas kept scrolling through the website.

Newt appeared from his room to pad into the kitchen and make himself a sandwich. Gally scrolled through his phone and listened to the soft music in his headphones until Thomas got his attention again.

“What days are you free?” He asked.

“Any, really.” Gally shrugged. He heard Thomas huff a little.

“Well it’s on a Monday. Seven until nine.”

“Sounds good.” He nodded. Thomas slid his laptop off his lap and turned to him.

“Do you actually care?” He asked, tone accusatory.

“Pardon?” His roommate frowned, taking off his headphones and leaving them around his neck.

“You. You don’t seem like you care about learning about this at all.”

“I do.” Gally reassured quietly.

“Really? Cuz I can really sense your enthusiasm.” Thomas rolled his eyes.

“That’s not it. I just-“

“Spare me the bullshit.” His roommate began gesticulating, “our roommate is deaf and you don’t even care enough to learn his language!”

“I do care” Gally countered.

“You’re not doing a very good job at proving it!” Newt suddenly was in between them, and took Thomas by the shoulders. He began to lead him away to Newt’s room, smiling apologetically to Gally over his shoulder. Gally signed a clumsy ‘sorry’, but Newt only waved him off and closed the door behind him.

-

Minho frowned slightly, shivering despite the coffee in his hand. He was wondering wether to take his usual route home, or to take a nice walk through the park. He decided his coffee would keep him warm enough, and headed into the park.

As he walked, he looked around. There were a few small children throwing sticks and balls for dogs, two mothers on a jog, chatting to each-other, some teenagers sat in and around a tree, and two men together on a bench.

Minho turned back to the path, just as a woman knocked into him, coffee sloshing down his front.

The woman stumbled and drew back, eyes widening.

“Oh my god I am so sorry!”

She had long dark hair, bangs covering her concerned, honey eyes. She had a large beige coat on, along with a bright red scarf that matched the small amount of lipstick Minho could see; the rest of her mouth covered by her leather-gloved hand.

“That’s ok.” He brushed the coffee off. “Leather. Comes right off.” He reassured with a small smile.

“Oh thank god.” She laughed softly. “Please, let me buy you another one.”

“That’s ok, really.” He reassured.

“No, I insist. There’s a coffee place just over the road.” She smiled.

“Thank you.” He politely smiled back. “I’m Minho.” He said as they began to walk.

“Molly.” She replied.

“Well it’s lovely to meet you Molly.” He nodded.

“The pleasures all mine.”

-

‘What was that about?’ Newt asked.

‘I was trying to organise some ASL classes for Gally and I, but he was being so unresponsive” Thomas replied, pouting slightly.

‘It’s ok.’

‘How?’ His roommate frowned deeply. ‘He doesn’t care about learning.’

‘So? Not everyone does. You can’t force them to learn a language they don’t want too.’ Newt shrugged it off.

‘But it’s not fair on you. It makes communication so difficult with someone you literally live with.’

‘Communication is difficult with everyone. And even if he doesn’t want to learn it, I have you who’s willing to learn, and Min to help me translate.’

‘It doesn’t make it right.’ Thomas slouched a little, clearly defeated.

‘Thank you for making the effort Tommy, but you can’t force things on other people. Language learning can be really, really difficult for people. As long as he knows the basics, which he seems to, I’ll be ok.’

‘It just makes me annoyed. Not just because he doesn’t want to learn but because he’s so hard to have a conversation with. I’m trying to like him, I want to give him a chance. But it’s so difficult when I’m getting about three words out per conversation.’

‘Some people just take a while to open up Tommy. It’s ok. Give him time and I’m sure he’ll warm up to you.’

‘Maybe. Or maybe he’ll be like this forever.’

‘Well, if he is, we need to accept that and let him live his life how he wants.’ Thomas threw Newt a look that said ‘how are you so accepting?’ So Newt just shrugged and pretended to do a hair flip.

‘It’s a talent.’ He signed. Thomas laughed and put his pen back in his pocket.

-

“So? You just moved here?” She asked.

“Not really. I lived in the city, I just recently moved in with some new roommates.”

“Dangerous game.” She laughed softly, warming her hands with her hot chocolate.

“Yeah,” Minho laughed.

“Are your roommates nice?”

“I guess. I don’t know, I haven’t been there much. Thomas seems nice, if not a bit of a control freak. But he’s smart. Gally’s super quiet. He never comes out of his room, but he’s nice enough. Newt’s- well Newt’s just soft. He loves everyone so it’s kind of hard to hate him.”

“Aw, they sound so sweet.” Molly grinned. “Why haven’t you been there- if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well, I like to go partying. But- I came to realise it wasn’t really fair on the others- especially Newt for me to go out so much.”

“How come?”

“Well Newt’s deaf, and I’m the only one that knows fluent sign language. So when I leave, it makes it really hard for Newt to be included in conversation.”

“Aw! You’re funny and you’re sweet!” She grinned.

“Well, I’d like to think so” he laughed softly. “But it’s really common courtesy. Newt doesn’t deserve that.”

“Well at the same time, he’s not your responsibility.” She countered. Minho’s brow creased slightly, and he nodded.

“No, but it’s only right that I help him make communication easier whilst the others try to learn sign language.”

“I suppose.” She nodded.

“So anyway, where are you from? I’ve never seen you around before?” He asked.

“Oh, well,” She smiled a little. “You must not have been looking hard enough. I’ve lived here all my life.”

“You’re a fan of the city then?” He asked.

“Of course! I love it. There’s so much to do, so many interesting people to meet. I never get bored.”

“You’d never want to live anywhere else?” He asked.

“Oh hell no. I can barely stand having a relaxing holiday. I just get bored.”

“That’s so interesting.”

“Well, have you ever met anyone that doesn’t like living here?” She asked, sipping her drink.

“Yeah, of course. They say it’s too loud, too busy. Dangerous in some places.”

“But you could say that about anywhere.”

“I suppose.” He shrugged.

“What do you think of it?” He asked.

“Me? I love it. Yeah, I think it can be a little busy, difficult to get around. But I’m a city boy, always have been.” He shrugged lightly.

“Well I’m glad we share the same views.” She grinned.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“And what of your family?” She pressed.

What of them?” He queried.

“Well, what’s the situation?” Minho was slightly taken aback by the question, but cleared his throat.

“They’re back in Korea. My mom and dad moved here before I was born. I grew up here, and then they decided to retire back in Korea. But I wanted to stay, so I did.”

“No siblings?”

“No.” He shook his head.

“Oh. I have a sister. Her names Maria.” She smiled.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, she’s amazing. I always wondered what it must be like to not have a sibling. Because- I mean, even though she gets on my nerves, I couldn’t live without her. I always think it must be so lonely to be an only child.”

“Well, I mean sometimes.” He nodded. “But, I have friends. We used to always see my cousins when I was younger, so I’d play with them. It wasn’t too bad.”

“Fair enough.” She shrugged. “Suppose it must have been nice to be the centre of attention?”

“I mean- I guess. Uh- yeah.” He nodded a little. Molly was clearly blunt, but Minho thought he quite liked that.

“Do you miss your parents?”

“Of course.” He nodded. “But, y’know, I call them all the time. And it’s not like we’re completely out of touch.” He shrugged.

“Yeah.” She hummed. “My parents live just on the edge of the city. It’s quite a way to get there, but it’s not far.”

“No, I suppose not.” He nodded. He kind of got the idea that Molly wanted him to ask about her parents, but he didn’t want to be disrespectful or overstep a boundary.

“They’re the sweetest ever. I suppose I was quite spoilt when I was a child, but that’s just what parents do I suppose.” She asked, and began nattering on about her parents.

Minho watcher her curiously. She was certainly beautiful, and liked to talk. Usually, Minho wouldn’t have taken a liking to someone so talkative and blunt, but he found it quite endearing, and he felt himself smiling fondly at Molly as she waved her arms around, describing how big and bold her sixteenth birthday was.

“Sounds exciting.” He chuckled softly.

“Oh it was!” She grinned. Minho just smiled back at her. Molly watched his eyes for a moment, before grabbing a napkin and producing a pen from her handbag. She scribbled something down and held it across for Minho.

He took it, and smiled softly at her number, scrawled across the napkin.

“I’ll give you a text.” He grinned, pocketing it.

“You’d better!” She smiled warmly back.

-

Newt stifled a yawned as he scrolled through Twitter, watching various debates come through his page. He glanced over to the door, where he could see feet stood outside. He smiled slightly, waiting for whoever it was and knowing they’d knocked, and were waiting an answer.

A few seconds later, when the person seemed to remember Newt couldn’t hear him, the door opened and Gally stood hesitantly in the door way. Newt smiled at him and sat up, putting his phone aside.

Gally had a pad of paper and a pen in his hand, and sat down slightly nervously on the edge of Newt’s bed.

‘What’s up? :)’ Newt asked, and Gally smiled slightly nervously before writing back.

‘I just wanted to apologise for earlier. I don’t know what Thomas told you.’

‘He said you didn’t want to learn sign language.’ Newt watched Gally sigh. ‘And it’s totally fine if you don’t want too. I’m never going to pressure you to learn a language for my sake’

‘But I’m trying. That’s what I was trying to explain to Thomas but he kept cutting me off.’

‘What do you mean?’ Newt’s brow creased.

‘I was trying to tell him that I’ve been learning sign language on YouTube. It’s slow, but I am trying. I wanted to take the lessons with him, he just thought I was unresponsive. But I do want to learn, I am learning.’ His roommate insisted. Newt smiled fondly at the message, and then at Gally.

‘Thank you Gally. You didn’t have to do that.’

‘You’d do the same for me. Supposed I could take a leaf out of your be-nice-to-everyone- Newt guide book.’ Newt cracked a large smile and scoffed quietly.

‘So why not tell Tommy you were learning?’

‘Well I was trying, but he wasn’t having any of it. I really don’t like him.’ Newt frowned again at that. How could anyone not like Thomas? He was so sweet- sweet and caring enough to get in a fight over something that was just for Newt’s convenience.

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t know. He just, didn’t give me a chance to explain myself today. And he’s so patronising. He can’t accept that I’m not a very talkative person. Every time I give a short answer or something he makes a comment under his breath or rolls his eyes or something.’

‘Why do you think that is?’ Newt was shocked to hear that from Thomas, and wondered what he had against Gally- it was obvious from their earlier conversation that Thomas wasn’t his biggest fan.

‘I don’t know. He just has a massive issue with me being private.’

‘Would you like me to talk to him?’ Newt asked.

‘No, don’t worry about it.’ Gally waved him off. ‘I’m sure we can learn to tolerate each other.’

‘I don’t want to sound like I’m on anyone’s side here, and I’ll say the exact same thing to him, but, you should try to give him a chance. He’s really nice.’

‘Newt, you think everyone’s nice.’

‘But I’m not wrong. He really is sweet.’

‘Well until he can get over his grudge about me being an introvert, I’m not going to try to straighten things out with him.’

‘Wouldn’t it be better to be the bigger person?’

‘Newt, I can smell his stubbornness from over here. I’m not going to be able to sort things out until he’s pulled his head out his ass.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to talk to him?’

‘If things get tense around here, then maybe. I just don’t want to drag you into anything.’

‘I’d rather get dragged in and have it sorted than have unresolved tension when you both spend so much time at home together.’

‘Ok deal. I’ll let you know if it gets much worse.’ Gally agreed and sat back.

‘Ok.’ He smiled.

‘What do you want for dinner?’

‘We’ve got Mac and cheese?’

‘Sounds good. I’ll get it started.’


	3. Three

Minho started his day with a happy text from Molly, which warmed his heart as he got up and padded tiredly into the kitchen.

He quietly put a pot of coffee on, somehow up earlier than Newt, and stretched a little. He actually felt good not waking up with a banging head and a desperate need for aspirin. It was a nice change.

He heard footsteps behind him, and he turned to see a shirtless Thomas, clearly just emerging from the shower.

“Morning.” He nodded.

“You’re up early.” Was the answer he got. Minho just shrugged and poured himself a cup of coffee. He raised it to his lips, but Thomas stole it out from under his nose with a smug smile.

Minho huffed and poured another cup, his roommate scrunching his nose up at the bitter taste.

“Now that I’m not hungover, I have no reason to be up late.”

“Guess not.” Thomas shrugged.

“Newt told me there was something going on last night? When I was out?” He asked, leaning back against the kitchen counter. Thomas frowned in confusion, before rolling his eyes and scoffing through his nose. “Oh?”

“It wasn’t much. Just Gally.”

“You two don’t like each-other, huh?”Minho commented.

“Look, I don’t have an issue with him- well I didn’t. Sure it was kind of annoying that he was so quiet, and I don’t like that I know so little about him- I mean he could be a serial killer for all we know!”

“Thomas, you’re getting off track.”

“Right, right.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I was trying to book the two of us classes to learn sign language- I was making the effort to plan something where I’d have to spend time with him. But he was super unresponsive, and he was just acting like he didn’t care at all!”

“Volume.” Minho muttered over the rim of his cup.

“For who? I don’t think Gally sleeps anyway.” He hissed, under his breath none the less. “My point,” he took another breath- Minho could tell he was one to get riled up easily- “it was just so heartless. He was acting like he couldn’t have cared less about learning it. And how is that fair on Newt? Not being able to communicate with one of the people he lives with because they’re lazy.”

“Have you talked to Newt about this?”

“Yeah, he said it didn’t matter. He said if Gally didn’t want to learn it, I wasn’t in the position to force him.”

“Well he’s got a point. But I do see where you’re coming from.’ He hummed, putting his mug in the sink.

“It’s just frustrating. For me and Newt. I mean I’m putting in the effort to get to know him better, and I’m putting in the effort so Newt’s life is easier, but he’s acting like he doesn’t care. I mean, why the fuck would you move in with three strangers if you’re not going to try to get to know them? You can’t live your life completely on your own. If he didn’t want to have to talk to other people, he should have rented an apartment for one person.” Thomas sighed and ran a hand over his face.

“Well I’m in no position to judge until I hear his side of the story.” Minho shrugged impartially.

“Good luck getting it out of him.”

“You’re very passionate about this.” He pointed out.

“I just don’t think it’s fair on Newt. I mean, Newt’s given him so many chances, he’s been so kind, and Gally’s not even taking the time to learn his language.”

“I know, but you can force him. Newts right.” Minho sighed.

“I guess- I just realised how lonely it must be to be deaf sometimes. When you’re surrounded by people who don’t know sign language, you have no way to communicate. And I don’t want Newt to be lonely. He’s got too big of a heart.” Minho smiled fondly at his roommate. He could recognise how big of a heart _Thomas_ had- his problem was that he cared too much.

“It’ll be alright. Maybe- if Gally really doesn’t want to learn, maybe I’ll talk to him. He doesn’t mind me, I think I could talk some sense into him.”

“Thanks Min’.” He nodded. “Right, I’m off to get dressed. You coming home tonight?”

“Probably. I dunno.” Minho shrugged. Thomas just made a noise of acknowledgement and wandered back to his room.

-

Gally watched with his eyebrows raised as Newt pushed Thomas down onto the couch excitably, before ushering Minho into the seat next to him and running off to his room.

“What is happening?” Thomas asked what Gally was wondering.

“Newt wanted a family game night.” Minho replied with a light shrug as Newt returned with UNO. His last roommate sat down and counted out seven cards each, before handing them to each person.

“Is this optional?” Gally asked quietly. Newt read his lips and frowned, shaking his head. Gally just sighed and nodded in acceptance.

They played for a while, in almost silence- apart from the occasional ‘uno’ or swear word. Gally watched Newt from across the table as his new friend became gradually more frustrated by the lack of communication between his roommates. Gally found himself wanting to start up a conversation, for Newt’s sake, but he had no idea what to say. He had almost nothing in common with Minho, and he knew Thomas didn’t want to talk to him.

“So, I’m dating someone.” Minho announced. Newt seemed not to take notice, too busy staring at his cards intently.

“Oh?” Gally raised his eyebrows.

“Good for you Min’. What’s her name?” Thomas asked.

“Molly. She spilt her coffee on me.”

“Romantic.” Gally hummed. Newt glanced up and seemed to catch on to the conversation; not that he knew what it was about.

“What’s she like?” Thomas asked.

“Funny. Blunt. Empathetic.” Minho said absently as he put down a card. 

“Always good to be empathetic.” Thomas muttered, throwing down a green four card. “Especially when people are at a disadvantage.” He glanced up at Gally, who caught Minho rolling his eyes.

“Are we really going back to this?” Gally asked with a sigh.

“Yeah. Because I don’t think it’s right what you’re doing.” Thomas shrugged passive-aggressively, putting down his cards to pay attention to the conversation. Newt signed something out to Minho, probably something similar to ‘what’s going on?’, judging by how much Newt was frowning in confusion. Minho just rolled his eyes and signed something back, and Newt huffed.

“I’m not doing anything wrong.” Gally replied curtly, severely fed up with Thomas’ attitude.

“Well I think being too lazy to learn your roommates language is wrong but ok.” His roommate shrugged.

“How did you even get to that conclusion? I said I wanted to come to the classes.” Gally was slightly surprised by how much he was talking, but he really was done with being attacked in his own home.

“Yeah and you couldn’t have sounded more thrilled.”

“I didn’t know that my introverted nature was a person attack.” He quipped back.

“Well am I supposed to think you’re thrilled when you give me one word answers for everything?”

“I just don’t like to talk, I don’t see why you’ve taken it to be such a big deal.” Newt snapped his fingers to get their attention, but Thomas continued as if he hadn’t heard, which made Newt slump back with a huff.

“Because I’m actively trying something that’s going to help our roommate and allow us to become closer, and you sound like you couldn’t care less.”

“You know sometimes how you sound doesn’t equate to how you feel.”

“Yeah because you’ve actively been trying to learn sign language all the time.” Thomas huffed. Gally sighed and ran a hand over his face.

“What are you talking about?”

“Every time I ask Minho for help, or go to classes or watch videos, you’re never there. I don’t think I’ve seen you sign once.” 

“Just because you haven’t seen me do something doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing it.” He responded frustratedly. Thomas just scoffed.

“You’re trying to tell me you know sign language?”

“I’m trying to tell you I’m learning it.”

“Yeah right.” Thomas scoffed. Gally rolled his eyes and quickly signed out ‘I’n really sorry about this, I hate fights.” At Newt, who just sighed a little and replied ‘it’s ok. Thomas seems to start them.’

“Wha-“ Thomas looked shocked to say the least, and Minho snorted a little into his beer. Gally could have done with a beer.

“You got anything else you want to criticise me on before you know all the facts?” He asked.

“Can you expect me to know all the facts when I’ve seen you about three times in the whole two months we’ve lived here?”

“I expect you to trust that I’d do that for Newt because I’m not a terrible person.”

“Well I don’t know what you’d do, because I don’t know you. You’re practically a stranger Gally, since you never actually took the time to get to know any of us.”

“Oh, right. So you were taking the time to get to know me?” He huffed.

“I was trying too.” Thomas glared at him, and Newt ran a hand over his face. “That’s what the lessons were for!” Gallys roommate was almost yelling now, and Minho put a hand out.

“Ok guys-“

“I said I’d go to them! I never said no!”

“Oh yeah because you really sounded like you wanted to go!” Thomas was stood up now, so Gally stood up to match his anger, not allowing himself to be the smaller person in the situation.

“Shut up!” Minho stood up too now. Newt was the only one still sitting, slumped defeatedly with his UNO cards still in his hand. “You are both acting like children, and no one cares about your petty argument! Gally wanted to learn- he has been learning. However he acted when you asked Thomas, is quite frankly irrelevant because he wanted to learn. And Gally, you can’t be mad at Thomas for being angry at you, he has a point that you haven’t exactly tried to get to know any of us.”

“So you have, haven’t you Minho? It’s not like on the first night you left to party, and gave us all a real welcome when we were kept up all night listening to you and some girl going at it.” Gally crossed his arms across his chest.

“Ok hang on-“ Minho was cut off.

“Yeah!” Thomas nodded furiously. “And it’s not like Newt was so late so many days of his first week living here that he almost lost his job because he was kept up every single night.”

“Couldn’t you have gone to her apartment?” Gally demanded.

“It’s so selfish!” Thomas agreed. Newt had gotten up and left.

“This isn’t about me! I apologised and I said I’d be here more!”

“And yet we still don’t know a thing about you.” Thomas countered.

“Not only that, but you’re dating someone. You gonna bring her back at night? You gonna spend every day with her?”

“Ok you are not having a go at me for dating someone.” Minho glowered at them. “That’s not fair!”

“I think that’s perfectly fair! You’re always putting some girl above getting to know the people you _live_ _with_!”

“It’s not like that!”

“Yes it is!” Gally frowned. How could it be any other way? “That’s exactly-“ there was a loud crash behind him. Gally jumped about ten feet in the air. Thomas yelped and Minho moved so fast he almost fell over. They all turned to see Newt with a fed up expression and two trash can lids in hand. He set them down with another crash, and marched up to Gally. He poked his chest and then pointed at his room. He then poked Thomas and directed him to his room. Then Minho to his room. 

Gally huffed, but marched off and slammed the door shut behind him.

-

Newt looked up as Minho shot through the door, clearly in a rush. Newt waved his hands at Minho to get his attention, and the man glanced at him.

‘Sorry Newt. In a rush’ he signed hurriedly, grabbing his keys off of the counter.

Newt jumped up, and made his way quickly over to his roommate, signing as he went.

‘I know. I just wanted to thank you.’ Minho stopped with a slight frown. He slowly pocketed his keys.

‘For what?’

‘Well I know that it must be a pain to have to translate all the time. So I just wanted to say thanks, for being so nice about it and not giving the others a hard time for not knowing it.’

‘Why would I do that? It would be wrong of me to not translate. That would be horrible to you.’ He replied with a slight frown of confusion. ‘Besides, the others are learning, right?’

‘Yeah. Slowly but surely.’ He grinned. ‘I don’t think they’re very fast learners though.’

‘I mean, at least they’re trying.’ Minho shrugged with a slight smile. ‘And one day I won’t have to translate anymore.’

‘Sorry, again. It’s a pain.’

‘No it’s not. And it’s not your fault either.’ His roommate waved him off.

‘Alright, alright.’ Newt frowned, brow creasing. ‘Where are you going anyway?’

‘On a date.’ Minho reported smugly, and his new friend raised an eyebrow.

‘Really? I thought you were the casual hookup guy?’

‘Well I was but now I’m a mature adult.’

‘You became a mature adult in the three days since you went to your last party?’

‘Exactly.’ Minho nodded proudly, before heading to the door. ‘You gonna wish me luck or not?’

‘I would but I can’t. I’m insanely jealous and my heart has been broken.’ Minho just rolled his eyes, and pretended to hair flick before shutting the door behind him. Newt smiled warmly to himself and went to the kitchen to make himself an unhealthy sandwich.

-

Newt was teaching Thomas the sign for ‘egg’ when Minho walked through the door.

“Hey!” He called from the hall.

“Hey!” Thomas called back. “Newt and I are in the kitchen!”

“Gally, get your ass out of your bedroom there’s someone I want you to meet.” Minho pushed the door open with a large grin on his face, followed by a woman.

“Hi!” She grinned, golden eyes sparkling happily.

“Hello.” Thomas smiled a little, unsure of who this random girl in his kitchen was. “I’m Thomas.”

“Molly.” She said back warmly. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”

“Oh! You’re Minho’s date!” He said. She laughed softly.

“Yeah. Did you not tell them I was coming Min’?” She asked.

“Sorry, I forgot.” He replied sheepishly. Gally walked in, hands in his hoodie pockets.

“Um- hello.”

“Gally this is Molly, remember I told you about her?”

“Oh, right. Yeah. Nice to meet you.” He nodded, before turning back to go get some peanut butter for something or other.

“So, you must be Newt!” Molly grinned at the blond, who put up a hand and smiled warmly. “Aww!”

“..Aww?” Thomas raised an eyebrow.

“Wow this is so interesting. I’ve never met a deaf person before!” She exclaimed. Newt stared at her, looking confused. Thomas didn’t blame him, the woman spoke a mile a minute. He’d be impressed if Newt even knew what she was saying.

Thomas raised an eyebrow at Minho, who just shrugged softly, clearly not bothered by Molly’s bluntness.

“So he never talks?” Molly asked Thomas. Part of him found it a little disrespectful that she wasn’t asking Newt himself, but he knew Newt would have given her the benefit of the doubt, so he should too.

“Well,” Thomas frowned,“would you if you couldn’t hear yourself?”

No, I suppose not.” She shrugged. “Hello!” She said slowly and deliberately toward Newt. “My name is Molly.” She over exaggerated her mouth, and Thomas winced and glanced at Minho.

Newt just smiled and signed out ‘hello,’ and ‘my name is newt.’ Molly grinned at him.

“He’s so cute!” She giggled. Gally and Thomas exchanged a look, and Minho took her hand.

“Ok, come on Molls, let’s go into the living room.” He tugged her out the door. Newt went to trot after them, but Thomas grabbed his hand and pulled him back around.

‘Are you ok?’ He signed. Gally watched.

‘Yeah. Why?’

‘Seemed disrespectful.’ Thomas managed to get out slowly.

‘Don’t worry. I get it all the time.’ Newt waved him off and went after Minho and Molly. Thomas shrugged at Gally, and followed his friend.

Molly was sat on the couch, chatting Minho’s ear off about something. The others sat down, and Thomas plonked himself down on her other side.

“You’re Thomas right?” Molly turned to him.

“Yeah.”

“Do you go to the gym a lot?” She asked. Thomas blinked, surprised by the seemingly random question.

“Uh- well, I go when I can.”

“Really? I would have thought you were like, an avid gym goer.” She smiled.

“..thank you?” Thomas didn’t really know what to say.

“It’s ok! I just think, you’ve got some muscles.” She shrugged.

“Molly come on.” Minho chuckled “don’t be weird. You don’t want to make him uncomfortable.”

“I’m not Minho, don’t be stupid.” Molly didn’t turn to look at Thomas’ friend, instead running her eyes over Thomas’ chest. Gally raised his eyebrows.

“Molly, come on. We have to go soon.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She sighed, before catching Thomas’ eye and winking. She turned back to Minho and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Thomas met eye contact with Newt, who was frowning deeply.

“..so, where did you two meet?” Gally asked, breaking the slight awkwardness.

“Oh!” Molly turned back into ramble mode, and went off on one about how she’d bumped into Minho and he’d spilt his coffee. Thomas watched Minho intently, sighing a little at how his friend watched Molly with such loving eyes. He knew this could only go badly. He knew someone was going to get hurt, but he knew Minho was already in too deep to get him to understand that maybe Molly wasn’t all she was chalked up to be.

“That’s so interesting.” Gally nodded, cutting her off.

“Thank you!” She grinned.

“So are you two, like, dating? Or are you together?” Thomas asked.

“We’re dating, but I think Min’s, gonna ask me soon!”

“How do you know?” Thomas asked. Molly scoffed.

“How do I know? What a stupid question, look at his face.” Molly grabbed Minho’s cheeks, which were very red, and squeezed them. “Aww, isn’t he the cutest?”

“Not really.” Gally muttered under his breath, and Thomas scoffed.

“Almost as cute as Newt!” Newt just smiled weakly, obviously as confused about the situation as Thomas and Gally- if not more.

“Newts not that cute.” Gally scoffed. Newt shot him an over exaggerated offended look.

“Do you ever wonder what he sounds like?” Molly asked. Thomas found it slightly uncomfortable that she was talking about Newt like he wasn’t even there.

“British.” Thomas shrugged.

“He’s British?!” She gasped. “That’s so cute!”

“Alright, Alright Molls. Come on, we’ve got to get going. Tables booked for seven.” Minho stood up and walked toward the door to get their coats. Molly sighed and pulled, what Thomas could only describe as a disgusted face, before getting up and following Minho to the door. Thomas, Gally and Newt watched them leave, waving goodbye politely, and shutting the door as quickly as they could.

“I hate her.” Gally immediately said.

‘Woah’ Newt signed, mouthing as he went. ‘We’ve only met her once.’

“And she was dodgy Newt. She was flirting with Thomas!”

‘You don’t know she wasn’t just being friendly’

“Yeah because winking is something you do when you’ve just met someone and you’re trying to be friendly.”

“And she was pretty rude to you Newt.” Thomas chipped in, hesitant to voice his opinion of what he thought.

‘That was nothing. That’s normal. People react like that all the time, it’s nothing.’

“Doesn’t make it right.” Gally shrugged. Newt just waved it off and walked off toward the couch, Thomas and Gally following.

“It wasn’t just that.” Thomas continued when they were sat down. “She was being really rude to Minho.” He signed out the few words he knew as he went. “I don’t think she likes him but Minho is in too deep already.”

“Do you think we should tell him?” Gally asked.

‘Jesus guys, don’t you think you’re moving a little quickly with this? We’ve met her once, and it was for ten minutes. I mean, maybe she was just nervous about meeting us. You should give her a chance.’ Thomas sighed.

“Fine. It doesn’t mean I can’t be wary.”

“Yeah. Thomas is right, for once.” Thomas glared at Gally. “It’s better that we stay on guard- for Minho’s sake.”

‘Whatever makes you sleep easier at night boys.’


	4. Four

“Your roommates are just the sweetest!” Molly grinned, breaking the breadstick in half.

“Oh thank you. I really think they liked you.” Minho smiled warmly.

“Really? They seemed quiet.” She frowned slightly across the table.

“Well, that’s just how Gally is. Thomas was probably just trying to gauge you.”

“Gally is always that quiet?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged a little. “Actually, that was pretty talkative for Gally.”

“Wow.”

“I know.” He laughed softly.

“Newt was just the sweetest thing!” She switched the topic quickly, with a huge grin.

“Yeah. To everything and everyone.”

“Aw.” She smiled. “You know, I think it’s really inspirational. To have the curse of being deaf and to be so kind.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t call it a curse. Newt doesn’t let it affect his life, or define him.”

“But it does- a little bit. If you think about it.” Molly shrugged lightly. Minho frowned in confusion.

“I don’t think it does. Newt has a lot of other great things about him. His personality isn’t just being deaf. He’s a real person past his deafness.”

“I know, but that’s always going to be the thing people, strangers, focus on. It doesn’t really matter what you’re other personality traits if you’re deaf, it’s not as interesting.”

“Unfortunately. But that doesn’t make it ok.”

“Yeah, well, that’s just the way the world is.” She explained. “And Thomas?”

“Yeah, What about him?”

“Well- y’know. Just tell me more.” Minho rolled his eyes fondly.

“Little vague. What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know. I’m just curious about him, he’s interesting to me.” Minho frowned slightly.

“Is he? Why?”

“Because, I have a degree in psychology.” She shrugged without missing a beat. “His body language and stuff is interesting.”

“Oh- Wow. Thats so cool.” Minho smiled at her in wonder. Molly was obviously really intelligent, he liked it. “Well, I don’t know much. I know he likes parties, but I’ve never seen him go to one. He’s got a big heart. Actually, he and Gally are butting heads a lot at the moment, cuz he cares a lot about Newt.”

“Are they close?”

“From what I’ve seen. I think if Thomas had any issues he’d go to Newt. Newt loves everyone, but I think he has a soft spot for Thomas.”

“That’s so sweet.” She smiled a little. “I mean, I don’t blame Newt. Thomas does seem very sweet and caring.”

“Yeah, I think he is.” Minho nodded. “But paranoid. And quick to jump to conclusions.”

“Well, no ones perfect.” Molly shot back.

“No, I guess not.” He hummed. “But, y’know, they’re all good people- I’m just glad I didn’t move in with any murderers.” He scoffed. She laughed loudly.

“Yeah, that’s a good thing.”

“Do you have any roommates?”

“Oh, no. My parents are pretty rich, so I could afford to get my own place.”

“Oh, Cool.” He nodded.

“Yeah.” She smiled. “But, it’s fairly boring. I think we should go back to yours if we ever wanted to.” Minho felt a foot running up his leg, and he swallowed.

“I mean- I guess we could. But my roommates are not happy about me bringing people back. Wouldn’t it make sense to go back to yours where there’s no one we can annoy?” The foot stopped, and drew back, a deep frown on Molly’s face. “What?”

“You’ve brought people back before me?”

“Well yeah. Before I met you I went to parties a lot. Y’know, random one night stands and stuff.”

“But you’ve stopped now?” She asked, brow annoyed.

“Well, yeah.” He nodded. “We’re dating, and I really like you. And I don’t like parties anymore. It was stopping me from getting to know my roommates.”

“Good.” She nodded, smile and foot returning. “I really like you too.”

“Thank you.” Minho smiled warmly back, foot sliding over to her other.

“You wanna come back to mine after this? We can have some wine or something?” She asked, putting her chin on her hand.

“I mean, I’ll come for a drink. I’m not sure wine is gonna agree with me after all this beer though.” He laughed.

“Alcohols alcohol. Let’s go back to mine, get really smashed and fuck.”

“I- wow- uh-“ Minho was surprised at how forward Molly was, although he wasn’t sure why at this point. It was only their third date, they hadn’t even kissed yet. “Are you sure?”

She rolled her eyes.

“If I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t be asking.”

“Right- I know. I’m just saying, we haven’t kissed yet or anything. I wasn’t expecting anything like that so so-“ Molly leant over the table and pecked him on the lips.

“There. Now we can fuck.” She smiled and sat back. Minho just blinked at her, and nodded. He thought they were moving a little quickly, and he had wanted to take his time, but he couldn’t really say no. Molly was beautiful and he really liked her- he supposed there was no harm in moving a little quicker than intended.

“I mean- ok.” He nodded a little.

“Perfect!” She grinned. “Waiter, bill please!”

-

Gally poked his head round the side of the door at the noise. He wasn’t surprised to find Minho returning late, and he slipped out to greet his friend.

“Hey Min’.” He said quietly.

“Oh, hey Gally. You’re up late.”

“Yeah. Couldn’t sleep.” He pocketed his hands in his hoodie. “How was the date?”

“Good, thanks for asking.” Minho nodded, grabbing some orange juice from the fridge and swigging it from the bottle. “Yeah, it was nice.”

“You like her, huh?”

“Of course. Did you not?” Minho asked, turning to put the juice away.

“Well- Uh- sure. She was very..bold.” Gally had to back out of telling his friend what he really thought of Molly, he couldn’t stand to ruin how happy Minho looked.

“I know right.” He smiled. “So why you up?”

“Oh right- I was wondering, what you thought I should do, about Thomas?”

“This again?” Minho groaned, running a hand over his face.

“This is the thing, I want it to be over too. But I don’t know how. He just riles me up.”

“So don’t let him.” Minho shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Wow thanks, didn’t think of that.” He rolled his eyes, “I want to be able to be the bigger person, and start afresh. But every time he argues with me it just makes me so angry because he doesn’t understand where I’m coming from.”

“So tell him that.” Minho leant against the counter, and Gally frowned.

“What?”

“Tell him that you want to start afresh but he’s not understanding your point of view.”

“He’s not going to be able to take that. He’ll just say I’m wrong or something.” He shrugged.

“Gally, Thomas may be a fucking idiot, but he’s maturer than you give him credit for. He’ll listen if you approach things calmly.”

“You really think that?”

“Yeah.”

“Well- Maybe you could come? Keep the peace?” He asked.

“I tried that last time and I got involved. This isn’t something Newt or I should be involved in. You and Thomas got yourselves into this mess, you have to get yourself out.”

“Seriously?” He huffed.

“Yeah. This is not going to work if Newt or I have to constantly be there to peace keep.”

“But-“

“No Gally. You and Thomas are both smart, civilised men. I’m sure you can work this out on your own.” Gally huffed and shot a glare at Minho.

“Newt would do it.”

“Yeah because Newt has the desperate need for everyone to like him- he’d jump off a cliff if it meant you liked him.”

“Yeah well, at least he’s a good friend.” Gally grumbled back, unsure of how to actually make a good comeback. Minho just pushed off of the counter and smacked him on the shoulder on his way past.

“You’ll thank me later.” He disappeared into his room.

-

Thomas opened the door to Newt’s room hesitantly, glancing in on his friend. Newt was sat on his bed, eyes closed and hand wrapped around a portable speaker. Thomas didn’t want to disturb him, but he was eager to show Newt what he’d learnt.

Thomas made his way hesitantly over to Newt’s bed, where Newt’s music was blaring. Thomas didn’t think Newt would be one for heavy music, but then he supposed, his friend could only enjoy music with heavy bass.

He gently touched Newt’s shoulder, and his friends eyes opened in slight surprise, before lighting up with a huge smile at the sight of Thomas.

Newt patted the space next to him eagerly, before turning to turn off his music.

‘What’s up?’ He signed and mouthed.

‘Well,’ Thomas signed slowly. ‘I’ve learnt more...signs..and I want to show you.’

‘Wow, you’re getting a lot better.’ Newt grinned encouragingly.

‘Thank you.’ Thomas smiled back. ‘You subway is very good.’

‘YouTube is very helpful?’

‘Exactly.’ Thomas sighed a little. ‘Sorry.’

‘For what?’

‘I thought I’d made more steps.’

‘Progress?’

‘Progress.’ Newt frowned slightly, before turning to a notepad he had on the desk next to his bed, and quickly scribbling something did. Thomas frowned a little, watching the crease between Newt’s brow. Newt turned the pad to him.

‘Tommy, don’t be ridiculous. I don’t care how good your sign language is. The fact that you’ve even taken the time to learn it, and are so enthusiastic about it, is more than enough for me. That on its own holds more weight than you know. It means more than you know.’

‘I just want good for you.’ Newt wrote something down again an turned it to Thomas.

‘No one said learning a language was easy. You’re doing better than I did.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, I wasn’t born deaf. I could hear until I was about twelve. I got meningitis, and lost it. I had to learn BSL, took me ages. Then, when I was sixteen, we moved and I had to learn ASL. It’s not easy.’

‘I didn’t know you used to be able to hear.’ Thomas wrote back, giving up on the signing.

‘You thought I’d been born with it?’

‘Well yeah. I assumed so. Didn’t give it much thought. Do you remember hearing?’

‘No. I know what it’s like, and I can hear a little now, but I don’t remember it.’

‘So you don’t miss it?’

‘No. Of course it’s inconvenient, but I can’t do much about it so what’s the point in missing something I’m not getting back. May as well get on with the life I’ve got.’

‘I suppose. So, what can you hear?’

‘Muffled noise. Loud noise. If there was a gunshot or something, I’d hear it. But mostly I hear through vibrations, like the music. That’s the one thing I’d change, probably. If I had the opportunity to properly hear anything again, it’d be music.’

‘It’s important to you?’

‘I loved it. I can’t remember what it was like but I remember how it made me feel. I’d kill to have that back.’ Newt smiled sadly at the paper.

‘Haven’t you ever thought about getting one of those implants?’

‘Cochlear implants? Yeah. I’m not sure I want one.’

‘Why not? Wouldn’t it make everything easier?’

‘Of course. But, I think, this is who I am. I’m not sure I should change myself for convenience.’

‘Jesus Newt, you should be a motivational speaker.’ Newt grinned.

‘I’d be great at that, other than the speaking part.’

‘But, and I don’t want to seem rude, but you can speak, right? You just don’t want too?’

‘No. I’m insecure about my voice. It sounds weird.’

‘How do you know?’

‘I’ve been told. And, I mean, everyone’s voice sounds weird when they can’t hear it. I just don’t think I’m ready for that.’

‘Well one day I’d love to hear your voice Newt. And I don’t care if it sounds ‘weird.’ Whoever told you it did doesn’t understand. Small minded people are small minded because they know they could never accomplish what the open minded can.’ Newt smiled warmly at him, meeting his gaze.

‘Maybe you should be the motivational speaker.’

-

“Gally,” Thomas knocked on his door.

“Yeah?” Gally took off his headphones. Thomas noted how dark Gally’s room was. So weird.

“Newt and I are going to the store for a couple things. You coming?”

“Oh- Uh- yeah actually.” Thomas inwardly groaned as Gally stood up and shrugged on a jacket. “I have to get a few things.”

“Ok.” He sighed a little and went back over to Newt, who smiled warmly when he saw Gally coming out behind Thomas.

‘Ready?’

‘Yeah.’ Thomas offered Newt his biggest smile- he deserved it, and followed his friend from the house, Gally taking up the rear.

The walk to the store was a rather boring, quiet one. No one had much to say, but Thomas didn’t mind. He didn’t want to talk with Gally, and any silence with Newt wasn’t awkward.

‘Minho came home really late last night.’ Newt pointed out.

“Yeah. Guess he got lucky with Molly.” Thomas signed slowly as he replied.

“I still don’t like her.” Gally grumbled. “She had the hots for you.”

‘If she had the hots for Tommy, why did she get some with Minho?’ Newt asked.

“I’m not saying I know her logic. But come on- you saw that wink Newt. And, when Minho said they were going on a date, she rolled her eyes and sighed.” Gally signed out.

‘Like I said, she might have just had an off day. You can’t judge someone when you meet them for one day.’

“Newt is right.” Thomas shrugged lightly. “You don’t know what’s going on in other people’s life.”

‘Exactly!’ Newt snapped his fingers at Thomas.

“Well I don’t think she’s genuine.”

“So you preferred it when Minho was keeping us all up with his one night stand?”

“Who’s to say he won’t be keeping us up with her?” Gally asked.

“He hasn’t so far.”

“They’ve been on three dates.”

“I guess.” Thomas sighed.

‘I think that if she makes Minho happy we’re no one to judge.’ Newt countered.

“No one was expecting anything different from you Newt.” Gally scoffed lightly.

‘I can see my reputation precedes me.’

“Of course.” Thomas watched Newt’s hands and lips, noting the word he was mouthing and then watching the corresponding sign. He did find it extremely interesting.

‘I’m flattered.’

“I’m glad.” Gally smiled.

‘What about you Tommy?’

“What about me?”

‘Well, you said you liked partying, like Minho but I’ve never seen you go out anywhere.’

“I said I liked parties, I didn’t say I liked them all the time. I’ll go to the odd one, but I’m not someone that wants to go to them every night.”

‘Right.’

“And all the girls I pick up seem to be insane.”

“Which means?” Gally asked.

“There was one, she tried to poison me. One was into some weird shit. She wanted me to piss on her and I was not about that. Then this other one had just several random bits of meat in her fridge and I didn’t know what they were and wether or not they were human.” Newt giggled beside him, leaving Thomas shocked.

Newt never laughed. He was sure he had before, but Thomas had never heard it. The most he ever got from Newt was a large smile, and the giggle was unexpected. Pleasant, and cute, but unexpected.

“The guys I’ve picked up have usually been ok.” Thomas continued, slightly derailed. “Less crazy. But, y’know. I’d just rather be at home.”

“Not worth it for the sex?”

“I don’t really get sex. I mean- I do. I like it a lot but it’s not something I’m constantly thinking about. And I don’t enjoy one night stands. I’ve always found that kind of thing better when there’s an actual connection with the person.”

‘That’s interesting.’ Newt put forward.

“I don’t get it, period.” Gally scrunched up his nose. “I’d cuddle over sex any day.”

“Fair.” Thomas hummed. “What about you Newt?”

‘I mean, I dunno. My sex experience is limited and horrendous so I don’t have much of an opinion.’

“Care to share?” Thomas asked, immediately intrigued.

‘Well, the first guy was ok. He was very forward, but nice. It was the fourth or fifth date, and we went back to him. We were- y’know, doing the thing, and he suddenly got really mad at me. I was obviously really confused, especially when he said he didn’t want to date me anymore, because I hadn’t done anything. Turned out he was angry cuz he kept asking me if I liked it and I wouldn’t reply.’ Thomas laughed loudly, Gally scoffing to himself.

“Dick head.” He snorted. A little bookmark was placed by the knowledge that Newt liked men, Thomas would ask him more later.

“And the second?” Gally asked.

‘He was deaf too, which worked a lot better. But he lived with his mum and hadn’t told me. Neither of us heard it when she got home. Walked right in on us.’

“Jesus.” Thomas cringed inwardly, only imagining what that was like.

‘Yeah. Haven’t had sex since. Been severely scarred.’ Newt grinned.

“Don’t blame you.” Gally scoffed, grabbing a trolly and leading the posse inside.

‘But maybe one day, I’ll find someone. And it’ll go ok.’ Newt shrugged to Thomas, since Gally couldn’t see him. He was too busy trying to find Kale.

“Of course you will Newt. You’re near perfect.”

“Well technically that makes it harder to find someone.” Gally said from ahead. Thomas frowned.

“Why?”

“Because if Newt’s perfect, he deserves someone else who’s perfect, which is hard to find.”

“I guess.” Thomas shrugged.

‘I’m not perfect. No one is. And I don’t want anyone perfect. I think flaws are attractive.’ Gally had turned to see Newt’s point, and he shrugged.

“I guess. But wouldn’t you want a less flawed person, than a heavily flawed person?”

‘If a heavily flawed person made me happy I wouldn’t mind.’

“That’s so weird.” Gally frowned.

“Why?” Thomas asked.

“Being with someone flawed is a lot of work that you just wouldn’t have with someone not flawed.”

“I think being with someone flawed makes them easier to love. If they weren’t flawed they’d never be upset and never get angry. And that’s how you know the relationship is real.” Thomas said back.

“Of course you’d think that.” Gally scoffed lightly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He frowned.

“I’m just saying.” He shrugged and turned back to the trolly.

“Are you saying I’m heavily flawed?”

“If I was it wouldn’t matter, since you think heavily flawed people are ok.”

“So you are saying I’m heavily flawed?” Gally just shrugged. “Well let me tell you something Gally, you’re not a damn saint either.” He huffed.

“I never claimed to be.” Gally said back calmly.

“What, so you weren’t claiming to be above me when you said I was heavily flawed?”

“I never said you were flawed Thomas, and I’m not above you. You need to stop assuming things.”

Thomas was smart. He knew when someone was purposefully riling him up, just to get a reaction. He knew he should calm down and take the moral higher ground, but Gally was so infuriating he found it pretty much impossible.

“I’m not assuming things you-“

Newt put a hand on his chest, and grabbed Gally’s arm, turning him around.

‘Listen to me.’ Thomas crossed his arms over his chest. ‘You need to stop this, because none of us like it. It’s either you get over this stupid feud and start fresh, or one of us is moving out because your immature asses can’t be in the same house. Get over it and move on, or we can’t be roommates.’

Newt turned and grabbed the trolly, marching off to find something.

Thomas was shocked. That Newt has sworn, but also, that he had a point. It had to end.


	5. Five

 

Gally groaned as soon as Newt closed the door, leaving the two alone.

Whilst he wasn’t technically in the same room as Thomas, he could still feel the irritability radiating from his room.

Still, he was hoping Thomas would keep to himself until Minho got back, and so Gally put on a show on TV and turned the volume up.

He didn’t pay much attention to the show, too busy wrapped up in his own thoughts.

He frowned slightly to himself, and decided that, despite his differences with Thomas, he quite liked his roommates.

Minho was bold and funny, the kind of person Gally would usually hate, but there was a kind of caring about him, that Gally couldn’t find himself not to like.

Newt was the most understanding person he’d ever met, and he really enjoyed his company.

But he couldn’t get on with Thomas.

No matter how hard he tried- and he had tried- Thomas always found a way to wind Gally up in a way no one else could. He was almost impressed.

The devil himself waltzed into the room, on his way past to what Gally was assuming the fridge.

“Do you have to listen to your shitty show that loudly?” He grumbled.

“This is literally your favourite show.” Gally pointed out. Thomas stopped short and glanced up at the TV, before grumbling.

“Yeah, but I can enjoy it without my ears bleeding.”

“Well I was hoping to drown out your attitude. I could feel it from here.” Gally shot back, gears already grinding.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You have such an angry energy that follows you around. You need to get it sorted.”

“I think you’d find I’m not always angry- oh wait, you wouldn’t know that because it’s always when you’re not around.”

“If you don’t like me being around that much, why don’t you just move out?”

“Why don’t you?” Thomas scrunched up his nose.

“Because I like my roommates.”

“And I like them too.” He frowned when Gally didn’t reply. “Well one of us has got to leave.” Thomas grumbled.

“Well, I mean,” Gally shrugged. “We could just learn to get on.” The rational voice came shooting back into his head and he took a deep breath, desperate to calm down. He has to do this. For Minho and Newt.

“I don’t think I could get on with you if you were the last person on Earth.” Thomas glared at him.

“Well that’s too bad because you’re going to have to unless you want to leave.”

“I have no reasons to like you Gally. You’re selfish and grumpy.”

“My god Thomas, would you let the selfish thing go. I didn’t do anything selfish. I learnt the sign language, the only reason you’re upset about that is because I didn’t give your damn majesty enough respect in me tone.” He snapped back.

“Well come on, did you really expect me to respect you when you shot down all of my ideas about how we could learn together?” Thomas crossed his arms over his chest.

“I didn’t! I just gave you one word answers and you kicked up a fuss.”

“Yeah well- you’re not perfect either! You’re constantly winding me up!”

“Because it’s funny to watch your immature ass get upset.” Gally rolled his eyes.

“You really can’t call me immature when you just admitted to doing that.”

“Look mate, it’s in the past. You don’t like me and I don’t like you so where do we go from here?” He asked and raised his eyebrows.

“You leave.”

“Why should I have to leave?” Gally glared at him.

Thomas scoffed.

“Well it’s not like you actually do anything helpful around here. We could stand to lose you.”

“Since when did you do anything helpful?” He frowned. “Newt does all the chores.”

“And I help him.”

“I cook. Like all the time. Since Minho’s never here, without me, you wouldn’t have anyone to cook.”

“Yeah well-“ Thomas spluttered for a moment, “Shut up!”

“Wow. Mature.” He rolled his eyes.

“What are we going to do then?” Thomas slumped onto the couch.

“Well I was more thinking along the lines of starting afresh, rather than booting one another out.”

“How are we supposed to do that? I mean really?”

“Just not winding each other up?”

“But you annoy me so much. It’s so hard not to say anything.” Thomas groaned.

“Well you’re going to suck it up unless you want to move out because I’m not going anywhere. I like it here.”

“Well so do I.”

“So we’re going to have to put up with each other.” Gally shrugged.

“Fine.” Thomas huffed. “If you apologise.”

“Apologise for what?” Gally immediately glared at him. Thomas shrugged.

“For being so unresponsive and annoying.”

“Ok. Then you have to apologise for being a pain in the ass, and talking about me behind my back.”

“Wha- I haven-“

“Save it Thomas you talk really loudly.” Thomas shrunk back in apparent shame, red-faced and grumbling.

“Ok. Fine.” He straightened. “I’m sorry for being a pain in the ass and talking about you behind your back.”

“See, that wasn’t so hard?”

“Go on, and you.”

“Fine. I’m sorry for being unresponsive and annoying.”

“I don’t like how you said that.” Thomas announced.

“I’m so sorry, you’ll have to put up with it mate.” He rolled his eyes. Thomas opened his mouth, and held his tongue, glaring at him.

He put out his hand, and Gally clasped it tightly.

“From scratch then?” He asked.

“From scratch then.” Gally nodded.

-

“I have an announcement.” Minho flung open the door, dishevelled and flustered. Gally and Thomas looked over their shoulders from where they were sat on the couch, Thomas tapping Newt on the knee and causing their friend to glance up.

‘What’s happening?’ Newt asked.

‘I said I have an announcement.’ Minho made his way over to his roommates, plonking himself down on the couch next to Gally.

‘Oh?’

“Molly and I are officially together.” He grinned happily. Gally and Thomas exchanged a look, and he frowned at the sort of disgusted glance they shared. Newt immediately lit up however, grinning.

‘Minho that’s great! I’m so happy for you!’

“Yeah, Same Min’. If she makes you happy, I’m really glad.” Thomas smiled, seeming reserved. But Minho shrugged it off and nodded.

“Thanks guys. I mean, she’s so perfect and makes me so happy.”

“Well..no ones perfect.” Gally pointed out.

“She’s perfect to me. For me. We belong together.” Minho smiled. He knew he was severely head over heels for Molly, but he didn’t see that as a bad thing, as long as the feeling was mutual. Which he knew they were.

“Don’t you think you might be going a bit OTT mate?” Gally seemed to wince at his words, as if he knew he was going to get a bad reaction. But Minho stayed relaxed- he could see how what he said could come off as too forward.

“No, I just love her a lot. And she loves me a lot too. We’re happy, is that a bad thing?”

“No of course not.” His friend shook his head, “just, sometimes forwardness can put someone off.”

“Well by that logic, she’s the ‘forward’ one. She asked me to be her boyfriend.” He explained. Thomas frowned deeply.

“Really?”

“Why is that so hard to believe?” Newt snapped his fingers.

‘Whatever the logistics of it, something good has happened to our friend, and I think that’s a good enough reason as any to celebrate.’

“What did you have in mind?”

‘Nachos sound good?’

 

Twenty minutes later, hot cheese in Minho’s mouth and a beer in hand, he was happy. The roommates were watching a show, and Minho was starting to wonder why he chose partying over this.

Gally and Thomas seemed to be on good terms, he’d heard of their reconciliation from Newt in a series of long, all capitalised, excited texts earlier that day. He was glad his friends were finally get along- or at least, starting afresh- because he had developed a deep liking for all of his roommates and would be sad to see one of them go and replaced because of a small argument.

Newt seemed happier since the apologies- if that was even possible. Since Thomas and Gally could better communicate with him, Minho could see that Newt felt included and like he could actually chat, like friends should.

His phone went off in his pocket, and he pulled it out.

**[Molly: hey babe xxx I miss u, wanna come round xx]**

He smiled at the text.

**[Minho: id love to, but I’m spending the night with my mates I’m free tomorrow tho xxx]**

**[Molly: are you choosing your friends over me?]**

Minho frowned slightly. 

**[Minho: no babe it’s not like that. It’s just that I haven’t seen them in a while and I wanted to spend time with them. We’re celebrating]**

**[Molly: celebrating what?]**

**[Minho: that I finally got an amazing girlfriend xx]**

**[Molly: aw babe!]**

 Minho grinned and put his phone away.

“So has anyone else got news?” Thomas asked, munching on a chip.

“Uh- Nah. I don’t think so.” Gally shook his head. Newt waved his arms.

‘I got a promotion.’

“Wha- really? When?” Minho frowned.

‘A couple weeks backs.’

“Why didn’t you tell us Newt?” Thomas’ brow creased.

‘Well there were bigger things going on. You two were fighting and Minho was bringing round Molly. I figured I’d let everything settle down first.’

“Newt, you should’ve told us.” Thomas said softly.

“Yeah.” Gally agreed.

“We’re really proud of you though mate.” Minho butted in, and Newt smiled. “What do you do now?”

‘It’s a smaller management role. But my hours haven’t changed or anything. I just tell people what to do now.’ He explained with a grin.

“That’s amazing mate.” Thomas grinned.

‘Thank you.’

“Yesterday I ran into our neighbours from upstairs.” Gally noted.

‘The ones that are always jumping up and down?’ Newt asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded. Minho rolled his eyes.

It has been fine at first. Whoever was above them liked to dance together. They’d put on blasting music and sing loudly and jump up and down, and it was fine, fun even. But it had become constant, and Minho was fed up of it. He was sure the ceiling would give out at some point.

“Who are they?” Thomas asked.

“Two girls. About our age, I didn’t get their names but they seemed friendly.”

“Did you tell them to stop making so much noise?” Minho crossed his arms over his chest.

“No of course not. I barely know them.”

“So? They’re annoying.”

“I got nervous.” Gally shrugged.

‘It’s ok Gally.’ Newt smiled. ‘If they’re our age, we could be friends!’

“Newt, you do realise you can’t make friends with the entire world.” Minho scoffed.

“He can if he wants too.” Thomas defended. “Newt, I think it’s great that you want to be friends with lots of people.”

‘Thank you Tommy.’ Newt smiled.

Minho frowned a little.

Tommy.

It was weird. He wondered why Newt has chosen to give that nickname to Thomas, and why Thomas didn’t care. He seemed to like it. Minho knew the two had soft spots for each other, but he couldn’t work out why. Thomas was quick to come to Newt’s defence, clearly, and Newt seemed to light up whenever Thomas walked in the room. But he couldn’t see them spending a lot of time together- at least more than they spent with anyone else.

“Do those two spend a lot of time together?” Minho whispered to Gally, who frowned slightly.

“Yeah, I mean- I guess. They listen to music together and stuff. They always hang out in each other’s rooms, but they usually do their own thing in silence. I mean, I don’t get it. It seems weird to me.”

Minho frowned and looked between the two again- they were chatting on about something or other. Newt had a large smile on his face, and Thomas was practically beaming with the knowledge that he was making Newt smile.

Weird.

Minho’s phone went off again, and he stored that questioning for later as he went to reply to Molly.

-

Gally found Newt in the living room, watching the TV. It looked like some crappy daytime television.

He tapped his friend on the shoulder, who turned and smiled at him warmly.

‘Hey!’

‘Hi. I just wanted to talk.’ Gally sat down, Newt raising his eyebrows in surprise at Gally’s fluent signing.

‘What’s up?’

‘I was hoping I could test out my signing.’

‘I mean, you’re doing amazing. I hadn’t realised you’d learnt so much.’

‘Well, I’m trying.’ Gally smiled, proud of himself when he saw Newt practically light up.

‘You seem almost fluent.’

‘I’m not so sure about that.’ Gally chuckled slightly. ‘I haven’t learnt tenses, or long sentences.’

‘You’re doing so well.’ Newt smiled softly, and Gally’s heart swelled.

He hadn’t ever made the effort to get to know people well, hadn’t ever done much for anybody. But, he figured learning sign language would benefit him if he were to live with Newt. But now that Newt was sat in front of him, eyes practically shining with gratitude, Gally wondered why he hadn’t been more selfless his entire life.

‘I just wanted to make you happy.’

‘You have.’ Newt ducked his head and brought a hand to his eye. Gally frowned, eyes widening when he saw his friends eyes glistening with tears.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.’

‘You haven’t. I’m just grateful. It means so much.’ Newt pulled him into a tight hug, and Gally froze up for a moment, before wrapping his arms hesitantly around the slimmer man.

His friend sniffled, before pulling back and signing,

‘Really Gally, I know I say it a lot, but it really means so much that you care enough to learn so much. I know it’s probably a pain.’

‘Learning a language isn’t a pain. It’s interesting.’

‘I suppose.’

‘Besides, how am I supposed to be your friend if I can’t talk to you?’ Newt just grinned at him.

‘I don’t really know. So what else have you got to learn?’

‘I’ve kind of got conversation down. I just need to know the longer stuff, phrases and what not.’

‘You’ve come really far in such a short amount of time.’

‘Well, I enjoyed learning it.’ That was a lie. Gally hadn’t liked it at all, he found it near impossible. But he felt he had to do it for Newt.

Gally was an outsider, he had been all his life. He barely had the confidence to speak, and when he did, he was often ignored or spoken over. And it had been hard to watch Newt want to be a part of a conversation, but not being able too, or trying to get someone’s attention and them ignoring him. A part of Gally had wanted the attention to be away from him, but Newt was an extrovert and he just wanted to be included. It wasn’t fair to see him cast out.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah!’

‘Well, maybe I’ll have to teach you a bit sometime. That could be fun, right?’

‘I’d like that. A lot actually.’

-

“What the hell are you doing?” Thomas stumbled backward from the doorway when he saw Minho flexing in the mirror.

“I’m taking a picture of my arms for Molly.” He shrugged.

“...why?”

“She said she liked them.” Minho grinned at his friend through the mirror, who looked uncomfortable and vaguely terrified.

“Right.”

“What can I help you with?”

“Nothing actually, I just came to brush my teeth.” Thomas went over to the sink, picking up his toothbrush and squirting some toothpaste onto it. He watched Minho texting on his phone.

“You really like her, huh?”

“Well she is my girlfriend.” His friend practically beamed, clearly proud.

“I know.” Thomas scoffed. “I just wanted to, y’know, make sure you were happy.”

“I’m really happy.” Minho nodded. “Duh.”

“Yeah, of course.” Thomas stuck his toothbrush in his mouth, and mumbled through the foam, “but like, do you think you’re a good judge of character?”

“In general?” Thomas nodded. “I think so. I think I’m good at sniffing out people who aren’t any good. Like, toxic people.”

“How do you know?” He asked.

“Well, I had this friend in high school. We were mates for years, and then he got this girlfriend. He was a really good person, but she treated him like shit, and I could see it from a mile off. I tried to tell him, but he wasn’t having any of it. He wouldn’t listen. Our friendship ended and they eventually broke up, but it was never the same. I did try to tell him.”

“So, do you think you’d know if you were in that friends position?” Thomas asked, spitting out the toothpaste.

“Oh, definitely! I’m not that stupid Thomas. But Molly is sweet, she’d never do anything to hurt me.”

“That’s probably what your mate said.”

“My mate was stupid.” Minho only rolled his eyes.

“I’m sure.”

“Mollys perfect man. She’s so kind and funny and confident. She’d never lie to me, she’ll always tell me exactly how it is. And she’s so beautiful.”

“If you like that kind of thing.”

“Well I do.” Minho nodded. “Don’t you?”

“Eh, sure.” He shrugged. “I’ve always had a thing for blonds.”

“Oh, Molly was telling me about her friend Rochelle the other day. Apparently she has blond hair. You two could come on a double date with us.”

“Sounds great, but I’m not really up for dating right now.”

“Why not?” He huffed. “It’s great.”

“I’m sure, I just don’t really want to be dating right now I guess. There’s no one I want.”

“well there’s not going to be with that attitude. I think you’d really like Rochelle.”

“Minho I am not going on a date with your girlfriends friend. That’s weird.”

“No it’s not. It’s only weird if you make it weird.”

“I am because I don’t want to date Rochelle.”

“Spoil sport.”

“Respect my choices.” He rolled his eyes and turned.

“Where are you going?”

“Gonna go find Newt.”

“Rude! You don’t wanna hang?”

“Newt won’t talk about Rochelle.”


	6. Six

Minho grabbed his toast on the way past toward the door. He was excited to get out and meet Molly for coffee, he’d missed her.

He had the door open when Newt appeared in the door and flagged him down.

‘Newt, I have to go. Is everything ok?’

‘Where are you going?’ His friend asked, seeming slightly distressed.

‘I’m hanging with Molly. Why?’

‘Just, felt like I hadn’t seen you in a while was all.’ Newt put on a smile, but Minho could see how he slumped in disappointment.

‘Is everything ok? What’s really going on?’

‘It’s nothing. Don’t worry.’ Newt waved it off and turned away to go back to the couch.

Minho gently took his wrist and spun him around again. 

‘Tell me.’

‘I don’t want you to feel bad.’

‘I won’t.’

‘Fine.’ Newt sighed. ‘It’s just difficult, to feel included when you’re not there to translate.’ Minho frowned.

‘I thought Gally was almost fluent?’

‘He is, but-“ Newt frowned and gesticulated a little whilst he tried to think of the words, ‘it’s not the issue with talking. It’s the issue with actually being noticed. And sometimes the two of them will talk and won’t sign, and- well you know I’m not the best lip reader. And I just get ignored sometimes, and I’m sure it’s not on purpose! Thomas and Gally are the sweetest people ever, but they don’t really understand how it is to be deaf. And you do, your cousin must have talked to you about it, right?’

‘Yeah.’ Minho admitted. Part of him felt bad that he wasn’t there helping Newt, before reminding himself that it wasn’t his job to look after his friend. ‘She talks about how annoying it is all the time. How people talk about important things or you like you’re not there. The condescending stuff.’

‘Yeah. And it’s not intentional, it just upsets me sometimes.’ Newt explained.

‘Maybe you should talk to them mate. Because, as much as I love you and want to help, it’s not my job to regulate it.’

‘I know. And I will talk to them about it. I just don’t want anyone to get upset.’

‘No ones going to get upset Newt. What you’re feeling is completely valid.’

‘Really?’ Minho nodded. ‘Well thanks Minho. I’ll try to talk to them.’

‘Good.’

‘Well go on don’t let me keep you any more. Wouldn’t want you to be late.’ Newt ushered him from the door and closed it behind him.

Minho sighed to himself slightly, before shrugging and beginning his way to his girlfriend.

-

Thomas frowned deeply at Newt across the room.

Something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

Newt seemed off.

The past couple of days he’d seemed slightly reserved and quiet. He hunched and didn’t bother to move his hair from his eyes. It was like he’d shrunk into himself.

Thomas waved his arms, catching his friends attention. He looked up.

‘Yeah?’

‘You ok? You seem quiet.’ Thomas frowned.

‘I’m fine, don’t worry.’ Newt shot him a small smile. Thomas had been seeing a lot of that smile recently. The ‘I’m-trying-to-stay-positive-and-failing-miserably-at-making-everyone-think-I’m-ok’ smile. 

‘You know you can talk to me.’

‘Thank you Tommy. But there’s nothing to talk about.’

-

‘Newt, we’re going out to the shops.’ Gally explained. ‘You coming?’

‘Oh, no thanks.’ Newt waved him off quickly. ‘Have fun though.’

Gally shot Thomas a frown as they crossed down the hall and out of the door.

“You see what I mean?” Thomas asked.

“That’s so weird. Newt never misses out on a chance to buy his vegan doughnuts.”

“We’ll have to buy some for him. Maybe they’ll cheer him up.” Thomas suggested.

“Oh yeah.” Gally agreed readily. “Why do you think he’s removing himself?”

“Maybe it’s cuz Minho’s with Molly now, and hangs out with her.”

“I mean, maybe. But we know sign language now.”

“Not fluently like Minho. It’s like if we were to have a conversation in broken English. And, I think he feels ignored sometimes.”

“But we all make an effort to make sure he feels included.”

“I know, but I’m sure he still feels it sometimes. It’s hard, especially because you and I are considerably less fluent. We’ve only been learning for a few months, and it’s not easy.”

“No. So, what do we do?” Gally frowned, opening the door and walking into the store.

“Maybe we talk about it, with Newt. I mean he’s not being very healthy.”

“What do you mean?” Gally asked. Thomas frowned slightly.

“Well, he’s obviously trying to stay positive and act like nothings bothering him. We should tell him it’s ok to feel upset.”

“I guess. You think he’ll listen though?”

“I’m not sure.” Thomas admitted, putting some apples in their basket. “Let’s talk to Min’ about it once he gets back, then we’ll figure out what to do.”

“And in the meantime?”

“I guess we just try to get Newt to feel included.” Thomas shrugged slightly. Gally’s brow furrowed.

“I don’t get it.”

“What?”

“Well, if Newt’s so upset that he’s getting left out, why is he actively pushing us away.”

“Maybe he feels like a burden.” Thomas suggested. “Maybe he feels like it’s his fault.”

“Damn, that sucks.” Gally sighed, throwing in some grapes. “Newt doesn’t deserve that.”

“No.” Thomas agreed. “No he doesn’t.”

-

Newt was in his room when they got back. He saw the light from the door open, and he sighed.

Sometimes he hated who he was.

Since Minho has gone off with Molly, things has gotten harder and harder with Gally and Thomas. And it wasn’t even their fault, they were trying so hard to learn a language for him, that’s why he felt so awful.

He felt like he was bringing everyone down, that he wasn’t being left out, it was just his imagination.

He knew things were easier without him there. Newt felt awful for wanting Minho to come back and stay away from Molly, for him. It wasn’t right. Minho was happy.

But Newt couldn’t help it. How lonely he felt. He wished it didn’t have to be that way, he wished he could talk like everyone else, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

Newt didn’t have many things he was insecure about, but his voice was one of them. Whilst he’s never heard it, he’d seen the looks people gave him when he used it on special occasions. They’d wonder what was wrong with him, why it sounded so slow and basic.

Newt curled up tightly on his bed.

He had to try to stay positive. It wasn’t right for him to be upset with any of his roommates, and they couldn’t know he was upset. He was supposed to be the one that looked after his friends, he couldn’t let them know he got upset about things too.

Newt felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and realised only then that he was crying.

Thomas was frowning, and coaxed Newt to sit up.

‘You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong.’ Newt went to sign something back, but Thomas gently pushed his hands down, and they dropped back to Newt’s side.

‘It’s ok to be upset Newt. You don’t have to look after everyone all the time. We can look after you too.’

‘You shouldn’t have too. I’m ok Tommy, really. Nothing I can’t deal with.’

‘Newt, it’s not a flaw to be sad. You can’t be happy all the time, and you can’t force it.’

‘I’m not forcing it.’ Newt wasn’t sure why he told him that with tears running down his face.

‘And you don’t have to lie to me or yourself.’

Newt jus sniffled and looked at his lap.

That was when Thomas opened his arms and pulled Newt close.

Newt hesitantly wrapped his arms around Thomas’ middle and put his head on his shoulder. He took a shaky breath and closed his eyes.

Thomas slowly rocked him and ran a hand up his back and to the nape of his neck and back down again.

Newt slumped into the touch, and for a second, his loneliness eased off. It felt nice. And that was enough for Newt.

-

“OI!” Minho shrieked as he was yanked into Gally’s room on his way out. He blinked in the sight of Gally and Thomas staring at him with deep frowns. “What are you glaring about?”

“We need to talk.” Gally announced.

“..about?”

“About Newt.” Thomas took a step forward. “Look, we don’t have an issue with you going to see Molly, we get it.”

“She’s my girlfriend.”

“Yeah I know mate, shut up about it for a second.” Thomas waved him off. “We have a problem. As much as we love the fact you’re having such a good time with Molly, you need to be around more.”

“Not this again.” He rolled his eyes.

“It’s for Newt.” Thomas crossed his arms over his chest.

“I thought you two were learning sign language.” He hissed. He didn’t know why, it wasn’t like Newt could hear them.

“We are, but it’s a slow process. And we’re by no means fluent.” Gally ran a frustrated hand over his face.

“So What? I should give up my time with my girlfriend to make Newt feel better?”

“Not all your time. But it’s not fair on him. How would you feel if you couldn’t talk to your roommates?” Thomas asked.

“You don’t get it Min’. It’s been so hard on him.” Gally added.

“No I do get it. I have actually been here long enough to notice.” Minho snapped back slightly.

“What?” Thomas frowned.

“Don’t give me the spiel about how I wouldn’t know what’s going on with him because I’m not here. I’ve seen it. I know.”

“So,” Thomas’ frown morphed into a glare. “You’ve noticed how lonely and upset he’s been this whole time and you didn’t do anything about it?”

“It’s not my responsibility Thomas.” He glowered. “It’s not my fault he’s lonely.”

“It’s not his fault he’s deaf!”

“What do you want me to do? You guys know enough sign language to get by with him. And Molly needs me. She doesn’t have anyone else.”

“Jesus Min, you know the world doesn’t revolve around Molly?” Gally chipped in.

“If all you two are going to do is attack me for spending time with the girl I love then I’m out.” Minho scoffed and turned to the door, rolling his eyes. Thomas grabbed his arm and turned him around.

“Minho, this isn’t about anyone other than Newt. He is your friend, and friends should make sacrifices for each other. Like we did by learning ASL for him. And like he’s done by putting you and us before himself since we met him. The least you could do is pay him back by letting him be apart of the group.”

“Look, it’s not like I don’t care. Newt’s my mate, and I want him to be happy. But I have someone to look out for now.”

“Minho, she’s your girlfriend not your kid!” Gally groaned. “Bring her round here if you’re that joint at the hip. We don’t care. Just do this, for Newt.”

“I can’t bring her round here.” He shook his head.

“What, Why?” His friend frowned.

“Because..because you don’t like her.” He stumbled slightly. That wasn’t the reason. A twinge of something Minho didn’t want to come back had announced itself when Molly was with Thomas. He couldn’t have that happen again. Molly made him so happy, the happiest he’d been in a long time. He didn’t want anything to threaten that. Even if that meant neglecting one of his best friends.

“That’s bullshit Minho. What are you keeping from us?” Thomas demanded. Minho just glared down at his shoes.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not talking about it.”

There was a long silence, and Gally ran a hand over his face, clearly defeated.

“Newt would do the same for you.” Thomas murmured.

“Well, Newt’s a Saint. I can’t do that. I’m not as good as him.”

“Well you are,” Thomas shrugged. “You’re just a coward, who doesn’t know how to balance his love life and everything else.”

“Don’t you think you’re being slightly over dramatic here?” Minho crossed his arms over his chest defensively, “I mean, it’s not like you don’t know any sign language. You and Newt can still communicate.”

“Yeah but sometimes we’re having a conversation and we don’t know what the signing is for that. Sometimes we don’t know what he’s asking. Sometimes he has to write everything down, and it takes about ten minutes. I’d give up too if it was that difficult to ask where the milk for the cereal is.”

“Can’t you learn faster?”

“Nope.” Gally immediately stepped forward, before Thomas could open his mouth, “you’re not pinning this on us. We’re trying so hard for him, we’re making the effort and we can actually see him as something other than an inconvenience. Because he’s our friend.”

“All he is to you is something that makes your life slightly more difficult.” Thomas added.

Minho opened his mouth to argue, but Gally cut him off.

“What’s his sisters name?” He asked.

“What?” Minho frowned.

“What’s his sisters name?”

“Uh- Sally.”

“Sonya.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s his favourite book?”

“Guys-“

“Answer it.” Gally demanded.

“I don’t know.”

“Les Mis.” Thomas answered.

“Do you even know how old he is?”

Minho looked down at his feet.

“Jesus Christ Min’.” Thomas ran a hand over his face.

“Why are you making it out to be such a bad thing that I spend most of my time with my girlfriend?”

“This has nothing to do with your fucking girlfriend!” Thomas snapped. “Just shut up about Molly. This isn’t about her. Your world doesn’t- it shouldn’t revolve around her. This is about your friend- someone you live with- and the fact you couldn’t tell me the first thing about them.”

‘How do you think that makes Newt feel? He made an effort with you, he makes an effort with everyone. He deserves a roommate better than some douchebag who sees him as a minor inconvenience because of something he can’t control, and someone who’d rather run off with his girlfriend than face the issues at home. Face the fact he’s let someone who would give the world for him- or anyone for that matter- and you can’t deal with the guilt of it.”

Minho sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Fine. I’m sorry.”

“Jesus, say it like you mean it why don’t you.” Gally grumbled.

“I mean it.” He snapped slightly. “I’ll be there more. I’ll bring Molly round if I have too. I’ll be there more.”

“You’d better be. Just until we can manage without you.” Gally nodded.

“You got it.”


	7. Seven

“Min’, come on. Your boss doesn’t have to know.” Molly whined.

“Babe, as much as I miss you, I can’t skip work to come see you.” Minho scoffed, pressing his phone against his ear and shoulder as he packed his bag for the day. Molly scoffed from down the line.

“Says who?”

“Says me. I don’t want to lose my job.”

“You wouldn’t. You’ve never had a day off, you can just say you’re ill.”

“Babe, it’s not happening.”

“But-“

“Min’?’ Thomas knocked on the door, and Minho turned.

“Hang on one second babe.” He put the phone down on his desk. “What’s up?”

“When you get back from work, we’re gonna go out.” He was told.

“..ok? And I need to know this, why?”

“Because you’re coming with.” Thomas shrugged. Minho blinked at him for a moment.

“Since when?”

“Since we had that chat about trying harder for Newt.” He frowned deeply. Minho huffed.

“You could’ve given me a bit more warning mate. I’ve got plans.”

“Can’t they be cancelled? For once? You always have plans.”

“Yeah well Thomas, I’ve got-“

“A girlfriend now, I know. But you promised.”

“Can’t we do it another day?” He sighed.

“Have you seen Newt today?” Thomas crossed his arms over his chest.

“..no.”

“Neither have I. He won’t come out of his room. It’s getting worse Min’, and we have to start making it better today. Now. Molly can manage without you for one day.”

“And what if I’d rather hang out with Molly?” He snapped slightly. Thomas seemed taken aback by the question.

“Look,” his expression turned to an annoyed one, “you can be pissed at Gally and I, for dragging you away from your one true love, but don’t be pissed at Newt. He’s done nothing wrong- asked nothing from you. He’s lonely but he knows you want to hang out with your girlfriend so he keeps his mouth shut. If you were a good friend you’d recognise that sacrifice and at least manage to give some of your Oh-so-precious-time to a cause that’s more important than your Tuesday date nights.”

“No.” Minho huffed.

“What?”

“No. I’m not going if you’re going to talk to me like that.”

Thomas stared at him for a moment, then ran a hand over his face.

“Jesus Min’, get off your damn high horse for a second and shove your inflated ego up your ass! We don’t have to get along- you and I. Ok? I’m not asking you to do this for me. I’m asking you to do it for a friend in need, because I know damn well Newt would do the same for you. You go out with Molly every night. All I’m asking is that you save three hours to put a smile on Newt’s face. I really don’t see how that is so big of an ask.”

“Because you’re being rude.” He snapped back.

“Fine! I’m sorry! You happy?” Thomas demanded. Minho frowned for a moment.

“Let me cool off. Then I’ll think about it.” He grabbed his phone and marched past his roommate, locking himself in the bathroom and holding it to his ear.

“Trouble in paradise?” Molly asked.

“It’s nothing babe.”

“You don’t need to lie. I heard all of it.” She said casually.

“Oh.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed. You know how much i love and want to hang out with you baby- but..well maybe Thomas is right. I haven’t been there for Newt as much as I should be, and he needs it. He’s my mate. And he’d do the same for me.”

“But think about it this way Min’. Newt’s not completely alone. He has Gally and Thomas, and sure, maybe communication takes a little longer but you’re not necessary.’

‘But I need you. You know i don’t have anyone else. I need you more than Newt does.”

“I know.” He sighed, heart heavy with guilt on both parties. “Couldn’t you come round?”

“You know how I feel about Thomas and Gally. They creep me out.” Molly sighed down the end of the phone. “I’m sure Newt can manage without you for one more day. You can hang out with him tomorrow, since I’m working.”

“Yeah.” Minho hummed, nodding slowly. “You’re right. I’m gonna go tell Thomas.”

“Good on you babe.” Molly encouraged as he stood up and made his way back to Thomas.

“Thomas, I can’t come.” He announced. His roommate’s shock soon turned to anger in response.

“Are you fucking serious right now dude?!”

“I’ve made up my mind. Newt can manage without me for one more day.”

“Fine.” Thomas glowered at him. “I hope this shit keeps you up at night.” He slammed the door behind him.

“Don’t worry my love. They just don’t get it like I do. You did the right thing.”

-

“We’re not gonna let this ruin it though, right?” Thomas asked.

“No, not today. Don’t even mention it. This is just for Newt.” Gally agreed, before opening the door to Newt’s room.

Their friend was pulling on a hoodie, and turned when the light flooded in.

‘Hey. You all ready to go?’ Gally asked.

‘Yeah! Let me just get my phone.’ Newt smiled, before turning away from him and grabbing things from his desk.

He turned again, and frowned at his friends expressions.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Minho’s not coming.’ Thomas explained bluntly.

‘Oh.’ Newt visibly deflated, ‘why not?’

‘Busy. I’m really sorry mate.’ Newt perked up again, and shrugged lightly.

‘Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he’s got good reason. We can still have fun, though.’

‘Hell yeah we can.’ Gally grinned, before turning back around.

Thomas gently squeezed Newt’s hand, who gave him a kind of forced smile as he followed Gally.

‘So where to?’ Thomas asked, shrugging on a coat.

‘Oh, I don’t know.’ Newt frowned slightly. ‘You can decide.’

‘No,’ Gally replied, ‘it’s your day Newt. What’s something you’ve always wanted to do?’

Newt gesticulated a little for a moment, trying to think of something.

‘I’ve always wanted to bake. My grandad loved it, but I never wanted to help. Not until it was too late.’

‘Well- Maybe we can go out, get some stuff from the bakery, buy-‘ he paused.

‘Ingredients?’ Newt asked.

‘Yeah! buy ingredients and bake here.’ Gally suggested.

‘Sounds good.’

-

Newt wandered into the bakery, looking around as his friends followed.

‘What do you wanna get Newt?’

‘I don’t know.’ He admitted, staring at all the things on display with wide eyes.

Thomas said something, and Newt glanced up to catch the word ‘cookies.’ Gally nodded beside him.

‘I’ll get a cupcake.’ His other roommate supplied. The server walked out from the back, and asked Thomas a question. Thomas replied, and tapped Newt on the shoulder.

‘What do you want?’

Newt blinked for a moment, panicking slightly, before replying ‘can I have a lemon tart please?’

‘Sure.’ Thomas turned back to the server, who eyed Newt and turned to put their baked goods in bags.

-

‘Ok, maybe take off that watch if you’re gonna wanna do this.’ Gally advised, Newt nodding and slipping off his watch.

‘This was my grandads.’ He explained.

‘You like it a lot, don’t you?’ Thomas commented. ‘Don’t think I’ve ever seen you without it.’

Newt just shrugged and put it to the side, before rolling up his sleeves. Thomas stuck his hands under the tap, whilst Gally set out the ingredients on the counter top.

No sign of Minho.

‘I’ll weigh out the dry ingredients.’ Thomas announced.

‘I can do the wet ones?’ Newt suggested in return. Gally nodded.

‘Ok. I’ll get the oven and the tray ready.’

The three of them set to work, Newt slowly and carefully weighing out the butter and eggs.

Thomas soon put on some music, and Newt could feel the bass through the counter. He glanced at Thomas, who smiled warmly at him.

He smiled back and ignored the slight flush to his cheeks.

Eventually, the wet ingredients were dumped into the dry ones, and plopped into little cupcake linings.

Gally put them in the oven.

‘What kind of icing do we want?’

“Vanilla of course.” Thomas shrugged, and Gally shot him a look. ‘Sorry, What do you think Newt?’

‘Vanilla sounds good.’ He smiled. ‘I think we have sprinkles somewhere around here.’ Making his way over to the cupboards, he hopped onto the counter and opened one. He took out the multi-coloured sprinkles and shook them, before throwing them to Gally and hopping off the counter.

The three of them worked tirelessly until each cake had a plop of uneven icing on them and a generous amount of sprinkles.

‘Newt, you wanna have the first one?’ Gally asked. The blond obliged, picking up a cake and peeling off the lining, before munching down.

He gave a big thumbs up, and his two friends tucked in too.

“These are amazing.” Thomas said through cake.

Gally just nodded enthusiastically.

Newt smiled warmly at his two friends.

They were trying so hard for him, so hard to make him feel wanted and apart of the group. And he did. Not the entire group, because Minho wasn’t there, but he certainly did feel happier- even if it was just for that moment.

He thought, in a way, it was a good thing that Minho was never here, Newt thought Gally and Thomas were picking up ASL a lot faster than they would have been had he been there.

Of course, Newt would have loved Minho to be there, but, as he constantly reminded them, he had a girlfriend. And Newt was happy that Minho was happy, even at his own cost.

He supposed, all in all it wasn’t so bad. It could’ve been a lot worse. Gally and Thomas could have not known any sign language at all.

Newt knew that they and Minho got in fights about him a lot. He wanted to stop them, he wanted to tell Minho it was ok to hang out with Molly- he’d even almost gone in and broken it up a few times. But, he wouldn’t lie, there was a small part of Newt that wanted Gally and Thomas to convince him to stay.

Though he wanted to give Molly the benefit of the doubt, he had felt wary about her, and the last thing he’d want was for Minho to be hurt.

And, he would like to see Minho every now and then.

But for now it was good. Newt appreciated all Gally and Thomas were doing for him, and wouldn’t forget it.

-

Newt felt the cold on his back from outside when the door opened.

Gally and Thomas had both gone to bed about half an hour before, but Newt had stayed up to watch a documentary on giraffes. He loved giraffes.

Newt turned, and shot Minho a huge smile.

‘Hey!’

‘Hi.’ Minho signed, before turning toward the kitchen. He re-emerged a few seconds later with a beer, and plonked himself down next to Newt.

‘How was your day?’ Newt asked.

‘It was good.’ Minho got out his phone and opened up a text conversation, leaving it balanced on his thigh.

‘What did you do?’

‘Well, Molly and I went to a restaurant for lunch, had a few. Newt, do you have any idea how good the sex is?’

‘That..escalated quickly.’

‘Look, I’m only telling you cuz I know you’re as straight as a fucking circle.’

Newt opened his mouth in surprise, but Minho stuck a hand out.

‘It’s fine mate, I don’t have an issue with it.’

‘Is it obvious?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Oh ok.’ Newt shrugged. ‘So Why is this straight sex so amazing?’ He frowned slightly.

‘Well, she’s just so hot. And just- has absolutely no chill. I reckon she could go for days.’

Newt scrunched up his nose in disgust as Minho picked up his phone and texted something. He glanced at Newt over his phone when his friend waved a hand.

‘Yeah?’

‘Tommy, Gally and I went to the bakery. Then we baked cupcakes. They’re really good, you have to try one.’

Minho just nodded.

‘The bakery was so great, they had so many nice things. They had cookies and cakes and they had gingerbread and they had meringues and they had croissants and hot cross buns and flapjacks and muffins.’

Minho nodded, glancing at Newt and back down at his phone.

‘And when we got back, we decided to bake because I’ve always wanted too. We baked these little cupcakes and I mixed the wet ingredients. Tommy did the dry ones and then we put them in these pretty cake linings that Gally put in the trays. Then we made the icing and Tommy got some on his nose but Gally and I didn’t tell him.’ He giggled slightly at the memory, and Minho glanced up in surprise, before turning back to his phone. ‘Then we covered them in sprinkles, and mine have little sprinkle faces on them.’

Minho put his phone down, and nodded.

‘That’s great mate.’

‘Thanks.’

‘So What did you do today?’

Newt blinked, and frowned slightly.

‘What?’

‘What did you do today?’

Now that was a punch in the gut.

Newt knew that Minho liked being out with Molly a lot. He knew that he’d rather be out with Molly, than his roommates. He knew he’d rather be out with Molly, instead of Newt.

And that was fine.

But to get home, go on and on about his girlfriend, and Newt respond and be engaged in the conversation, and to then not pay Newt any attention when he was talking about his day.

That wasn’t ok.

Newt got ignored a lot. It was expected when people didn’t know your language.

But he wouldn’t have expected it from Minho. Someone who knew what he was going through, almost first hand. Someone he’d consider a friend.

So Newt got up, and walked away.

-

Gally yawned as he wandered into the kitchen, rubbing at his eyes.

He yelped in surprise at Minho, sat on the counter in the day before’s clothes, practically twitching from what looked like his sixth or seventh coffee.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He hissed.

“Newts angry at me.” Minho murmured, eyes bolted to a random spot on the wall.

“What are you talking about, Newt’s never been mad at anyone.”

“No he’s really mad at me.”

“Why? What happened?”

“I got home last night, and we were talking. I told him about my day and talked about Molly. Then he started going on about something, but Molly texted me. It sounded serious, I think she was upset so I was talking to her. It got resolved and I put down my phone, I asked Newt what he’d done that day and he walked off to his room. I think he was telling me about his day and I wasn’t listening.”

“Wha- Jesus Minho.” Gally ran a hand over his face.

“I went after him, I tried to explain. But he was really upset so I just left him alone. I tried to catch him this morning, but he left before I was even awake. He’s avoiding me.”

“I don’t blame him, that’s such a dick move.” Gally huffed, getting out his phone and texting Newt, eager to check on him.

“It was an accident!”

“But it wasn’t though, was it? You just didn’t care.”

“If I didn’t care I wouldn’t have asked about his day.” Minho huffed, taking his gaze from the wall to Gally and glaring slightly.

“Then why weren’t you paying him attention? He was trying to tell you about how good his day was, and you wouldn’t listen.”

“I was worried about Molly.”

Gally set his jaw and marched over to where Minho was sat on the counter. His voice dropped to a murmur.

“Min’, I’m not going to yell at you like Thomas will when he finds out. You know he’s probably going to drop kick your ass out the fucking window.”

“I know.” His friend sighed.

“So I’d get out of the house before he finds out, because as soon as Newt gets back from work and Thomas notices a strand of hair in the wrong place, and he will, he is going to be on your ass.”

“I know.”

“So listen up because I’m going to make this short.” Minho met his eye. “You need to find a balance. Because I know you care about Molly, and I know how much she means to you, but this cannot go on. Only being around your girlfriend isn’t healthy. For you, for her, for your relationship, and the people around you. Ok? You have friends, you have family. You have us, we’re your roommates, ok? It’s got to change and you need to get a balance or all of your relationships, including your one with her, will end in flames.”

‘You’re lucky you only pissed off Newt, because you know he’ll forgive you. But what happens when you piss someone else off? What if you lose a friend because of you and Molly.”

“I don’t want to lose my friends.” He murmured.

“So pull it together.”

“Ok.” Minho whispered.

“Good.” Gally took a step back. “Now get out of here before Thomas has your head on a pike.”


	8. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapters quite short, I’m travelling at the moment <333

Thomas made a noise of disgust from across the other side of the room. Gally turned to look at him. 

“What?” 

“Minho posted a three month anniversary photo on Instagram.” Thomas explained as he came to sit down next to him. 

‘I hate couples that make anniversary posts every month.’ Newt grimaced. 

“I don’t blame you.” Thomas sighed. 

“I haven’t seen him in three days.” Gally rolled his eyes. 

“He’s still avoiding me.” Thomas turned off his phone and put it down. 

“I don’t blame him. I can’t believe he hasn’t apologised to Newt yet.”

‘Maybe he just forgot. It has been a while.’

“Three months isn’t that long.” Gally frowned. “And it’s hard to forget about it considering how many arguments you and him have.” Gally nodded at Thomas. 

‘Tommy, are you still arguing about that? I told you it didn’t matter.’ Newt scolded lightly. 

“Sorry. He just winds me up. I mean come on Newt, he treated you like shit, the least he could do is give you a sincere apology.” Thomas signed, before dropping his arms with another sigh. 

“They won’t last.” Gally shrugged. “They’ll break up and he’ll come crawling back.” 

‘You really think they’ll break up?’ Newt asked. 

“Definitely. Minho’s love struck but he’s not an idiot. He’ll realise that she’s no good for him sooner or later.” 

“I’m not sure if I want him around or not.” Thomas admitted, rolling his eyes. “I mean, he’s such a pain in the ass.”

“But think about him before he got with Molly. He was great.” Gally shrugged. “It’s her fault.”

‘I want them to break up because she’s bad for him,’ Newt added, ‘but I really don’t want him to get hurt.’

“He’s going to get hurt wether they stay together or not. She’s just that kind of person.” Thomas shrugged lightly. 

‘I guess.’

“Can’t say I won’t be tempted to say I told you so though.” His friend grumbled. 

“You can’t do that.” Gally scoffed slightly at the thought. “He’ll kill you.”

“If she doesn’t kill him first.” 

‘She was pretty scary.’ Newt agreed. 

“I thought you said we should give her the benefit of the doubt?” Gally frowned slightly. The blond shrugged lightly. 

‘I did, but after seeing what she’s turned Minho into, she’s got to be some kind of a bitch.’

“Newt! That’s a no no word!” Thomas gasped. Newt just rolled his eyes fondly and kicked him lightly. 

“She must be the devil if Newt’s calling her a bitch.” Gally scoffed. 

-

“I’m home guys!” Minho called. Thomas glanced up- it was unusual of Minho to announce himself, usually he’d close the door as quietly as possible and scuttle off to his room. 

Then Molly followed him in. 

‘Oh brother.’ Newt signed with his hands down low. Thomas scoffed, turning back to Molly. 

“Hey!”

“Hi!” She grinned.

Gally emerged from his room, eyes widening slightly at Molly. Minho took her coat and disappeared for a moment.

“Nice to have you back here Molly.” He smiled politely, before turning to Newt and Thomas. 

“Hi.”

‘What is she doing here?’ Gally demanded. 

‘The hell if I know.’ Newt shrugged. 

‘This should be fucking fun.’ Thomas had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. 

“Aw! What are you guys saying?” Molly asked. 

“Uh- just- Newt wanted to say how nice it is that you’re here.” Newt raised an eyebrow. 

“Aw!” Molly turned to Newt. “Thank-you.” She said slowly. Newt just nodded, obviously amused. Thomas scoffed slightly as Minho came back in, wrapping his arm around Molly’s waist.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah. Newt was just saying it’s nice to have me.” She grinned. Minho smiled, removing his hand from her waist. 

‘Thanks Newt.’

‘Anytime mate.’ Thomas watched Newt bite down on his lip to stop himself from giggling. 

“So, What are you guys doing here?” Gally asked politely. 

“Just thought I’d bring my girl round. Is that ok?” He raised an eyebrow somewhat defensively. 

“Course it is.” Thomas waved off Minho’s surprised expression as he motioned for his girlfriend to sit down. 

“Such a gentleman.” Molly smiled at him, squeezing his bicep gently as she sat down. 

Minho sat down next to her, not seeing the glance Gally and Newt gave each other. “Have you got a girlfriend Thomas?” She asked as he sat down. 

‘Jesus.’ Newt mouthed at Gally, Thomas glancing at him before answering. 

“No, I’m more focusing on my job- and my friends at the moment.”

“A noble thing to do.” She nodded. 

“Molly’s really interested in you, y’see Thomas.” Minho smiled lovingly at his girlfriend. 

“..oh?” Gally frowned, translating what Minho had said for Newt, who didn’t quite catch it. 

“Well, yeah. I have a degree in psychology you see, and your body language and stuff is really interesting.” She explained, never breaking eye contact with Thomas once. 

‘She does not.’ Newt signed subtly. ‘No fucking way.’

‘More like a degree in cheating.’ Gally replied, Thomas trying not to laugh. 

“Isn’t that cool?” Minho grinned. 

“Yeah. I- I hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.” Thomas shrugged. 

“Oh, well- just the way you move, and stuff, it’s just interesting.” 

‘Interesting how?’ Newt asked. Molly shot a look of confusion in his direction.

“Interesting how?” Minho repeated. 

“Oh, y’know- it’s pretty technical, I won’t bore you.” She waved it off. 

Thomas could see how close Gally and Newt both were to losing it. 

“Oh yeah, course not.” Thomas nodded. 

“Anyway, What are you doing here?” Gally changed the subject, to stop himself from cackling, presumably. 

“Am I not welcome here?” Molly laughed slightly bitterly. 

“No, of course you are. I was just wondering. Figured you might want your Tuesday date night to be- private I guess.”

“We do. You’re right.” Minho nodded. “But the restaurant we booked had to shut tonight- something about the cook being sick so we had to come here.” 

‘Maybe we should order some food then? Or, we could leave you alone if you wanted.’

‘Don’t worry about that Newt. I’ve ordered pizza. And you can stay.’ He smiled at the blond, who seemed slightly disappointed.

“What did he say?” Molly asked eagerly. 

“He said they can leave if we want, but I said it’s ok.”

“Of course! You’re all so wonderful!” The woman laughed softly, placing a hand on Thomas’ bicep. Thomas just smiled a little, and shrugged off her hand. 

“Thanks.”

“You’re- pretty great too.” Gally noted. 

‘Great at being dodgy.’ Newt replied subtly.

Thomas scoffed that time. 

“Thomas?” Minho immediately frowned. “Something funny?”

“N- no. Just-“ he cleared his throat. “Something in my throat.”

“Oh you poor thing.” Molly smiled sympathetically. Thomas shot a look at his two friends that could only be described as an ‘SOS’. The only thing he got back was quiet sniggers and giggles. 

Minho frowned slightly.

“Try not to make him uncomfortable Molls.” He said softly- clearly uncomfortable and upset himself. 

Gally’s and Newt’s smiles dropped off their faces, and they exchanged a glance with Thomas. 

“Min’, I’m not.” She sighed. “Would you get off my back?”

“Sorry.” Thomas watched in disgust and anger as his friend recoiled. Newt’s brow frowned, and Gally opened his mouth to say something. 

“Don’t worry babe.” Molly pecked Minho on the corner of the mouth, and Thomas’ friend turned to his usual, love struck self. 

“So-“

The door bell rang, and Minho shot up. 

“That’ll be the pizza.” He smiled, kissing the top of his girlfriends head before turning to get the front door. 

“I’ll come help.” Gally said, nodding to Thomas and Newt. Thomas nodded back and as his friend walked past, Gally put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

Thomas met Newt’s eye, and grimaced. 

Then there were three. 

-

“Min’ hang on.” Gally reached out and grabbed Minho’s arm as he turned back toward the living room. 

“Yeah?” He asked. 

“I just- can we talk for a second?” Minho put down the pizza and turned to his friend. “What’s up?” 

“Are you feeling ok?” Gally asked quietly. 

“Huh? What do you mean?” 

“Ok,” Gally sighed slightly. “Don’t have a go at me for this- just hear me out.” Minho nodded slowly. “When Molly told you to get off her back, you seemed upset. I just wanted to check that she wasn’t being mean to you.”

“Don’t worry about that mate.” He reassured. “Besides, I was being annoying.”

“No..you really weren’t.” Gally frowned, treading lightly. 

“I was.”

“You were looking out for Thomas- your friend. That’s not annoying.”

“I was getting a little annoying though, you have to admit.” Minho stuck to his story. 

“Uh- no. Besides, even if you were annoying, you were right. Thomas is uncomfortable- she shouldn’t wave that off because she’s making him feel uncomfortable.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s obvious.” Gally just shrugged. “You should talk about this- or sort something out. She needs to chill around Thomas.”

“It’s just fun, you know she finds him interesting.”

“I know mate, that’s my point. Look-“ he swallowed and lowered his voice even more, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but she’s being really dodgy around Thomas. Always has been.”

“What are you talking about? We’ve been here twice.”

“Yeah and the first time, she held onto his arm, asked if he worked out. She winked at him when you weren’t looking. Today, all she’s been doing is hanging off his arm and shutting down the possibility that she’s making him uncomfortable. Oh yeah, and asking if he’s single.”

Minho looked conflicted for a moment, before his eyes cleared with certainty. 

“You don’t know that it’s not just playful teasing. It could just be harmless flirting.”

“I didn’t realise flirting with other people when you’re in a relationship was harmless.” He frowned. 

“It doesn’t mean anything.” Minho insisted.

“How do you know?”

“Because I know Molly. She loves me- she- she would never do anything like that.” He explained. 

“I just- I’m just not sure you know her as well as you think you know her mate.”

“When are you going to get off my back about my girlfriend?” Minho asked sharply, taking a step back and crossing his arms defensively over his chest. 

Gally remained calm. 

“I’m not on your back. I’m your friend, and I care about you, and I just wanted to make sure you weren’t upset, and knew about this so called harmless flirting.”

Minho took a deep breath and dropped his arms. 

“Well I do, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. It’s just playful teasing and it’ll never lead to anything because Molly loves me, and not Thomas.”

“Ok.” Gally sighed slightly. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.” That was said with the certainty of a man who was very insecure about his relationship, but Gally let it slide. 

“Ok, let’s get these pizzas- oh hey Newt.” 

Newt had appeared at the door. 

‘Hey.’

‘Where are Thomas and Molly?’ Minho demanded. 

‘Tommy went to show her where the loo was. I just wanted to check up on you guys, you were taking a while.’

‘Yeah, sorry Newt,’ Gally grabbed the pizzas. ‘We’ll be in right-‘

‘Actually Newt.’ Minho signed slowly ‘I wanted to talk to you.’


	9. Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so late I just,,,forgot to post it???

‘What’s up?’ Newt asked. 

‘I wanted to apologise.’ Minho replied. Newt frowned slightly. 

‘Apologise for what?’ 

‘Not listening to you. Not being there when you needed me to be.’ He explained. 

‘Oh, it’s ok. Don’t worry about it.’

‘No, Newt, don’t shrug it off like that.’ Gally frowned.

‘He’s right, I was a dick. I don’t deserve that. I know it upset you.’ 

‘Yeah well, it was ages ago. It doesn’t matter anymore.’

‘It matters that it was ages ago.’ Minho countered. Newt glanced down and shrugged a little. 

‘Ok. You’ve apologised. What do you want me to say now?’ 

‘I don’t want you to just say sorry for the sake of avoiding conflict. If you’re angry at me, tell me. Tell me what I’ve done wrong and why you’re upset, and I can work to be better, so this doesn’t happen again.’ Newt was impressed with Minho’s mature to the situation- a three month old situation, but the thought was still appreciated. 

‘Ok.’ He treaded apprehensively. ‘Well- I’m mad at you. Because you ignored me, when I was trying to talk to you. I didn’t think it was fair, because I’d listened to you talk- about your- sex and stuff,’ Gally pulled a face at Minho, ‘and you wouldn’t even listen to how my day was.’ 

‘I won’t do that anymore.’ Minho reassured. ‘I’ll be better, I will listen. It wasn’t fair of me.’

‘I know you said Molly was upset, but you could have just told me to hang on a second.’

‘I know. It wasn’t important looking back on it. She was just upset because I didn’t stay over.’ He explained. Gally ran a hand over his face. ‘I won’t do it again.’ 

‘I was also upset because you waited so long to apologise. It felt like you didn’t care about saying sorry.’ 

‘I’m sorry.’ Minho sighed. ‘I thought- I felt so bad about doing that to you. I didn’t have the balls to own up to my mistakes, so I just pretended they weren’t there. But that’s not right, I shouldn’t have done that. That’s why I’m admitting to them now.’

‘Three months later, but the thought is still appreciated.’ He joked lightly. Minho scoffed a little. 

‘I’m a pussy.’ He sighed. 

‘A little.’ Newt admitted. ‘But you’re forgiven.’ He smiled a little. 

‘Really?’ Minho lit up slightly. 

‘Sure.’ He opened his arms, and his friend hugged him tightly. Gally gave Newt a thumbs up over his shoulder, and Newt grinned. 

Minho stepped back and sighed with relief. 

‘Maybe Thomas will stop the man hunt for me.’ 

‘What do you mean?’ Newt frowned. 

‘Thomas has been after Minho with a pitchfork for the past three months.’ Gally explained, jumping up onto the counter. 

‘Why?’

‘Because of what I did.’ Minho shrugged. ‘You have noticed how protective he is over you, right?’

‘What are you talking about?’ Newt frowned deeply. 

‘Dude, Thomas wanted my head on a spike for upsetting you. I don’t know what it is, but he obviously really cares about you.’

‘Oh.’ Newt thought back, and hummed. ‘I guess I just kinda thought it was normal. Doesn’t he do that with you guys?’

‘No.’ Minho scoffed. 

‘No.’ Gally shrugged. ‘I dunno wether it’s because he thinks you can’t fight your own battles, or he just cares a lot about you. Maybe you should ask him about it.’

‘Maybe.’ Newt nodded. 

-

“It’s just this way.” Thomas made sure to stay as far away from Molly as he could as he showed her toward the bathroom. 

“Thank you Tommy.” She smiled. 

“Please don’t call me that.” He stopped outside the bathroom door and turned, just to see her face falling.

“Why?”

“Just, don’t really like it.” He lied. He didn’t like it, just when Newt called him it. It felt wrong coming from her mouth. 

Molly huffed. 

“Well you didn’t have to be rude about it.”

“Sorry.” He apologised tiredly, with the tone of someone who really wasn’t sorry. 

“It’s ok! I forgive you!” She grinned warmly. “Isn’t Minho so annoying sometimes?” She leant against the wall, and Thomas raised his eyebrows. 

“..what?”

“Min’. I mean, I love him but sometimes he’s just so irritating!” 

“I mean- no. Not really. I don’t think he’s irritating.” He frowned. Thomas didn’t, not really. He just found Minho frustrating sometimes. 

“Well, that’s obvious. You don’t see him as much as I do.”

“If you find him so annoying, why are you dating him?” He asked tiredly. Honestly, he just wanted to know why she wasn’t going to the toilet. 

“Well, y’know, he’s quite hot. Got hot friends, so.” She shrugged. “The sex’s good enough.”

“Right, Good to know.” Thomas knew she was a dick, but he wasn’t expecting her to be so open about being a dick. 

“All my relationships before have ended quite badly.”

“Really? Wonder why.”

“Well, I’ve accidently ended up sleeping with all my ex’s friends. Just to see who was the best- whether I was dating the right one or not, y’know?”

“You’re going to have a hard time fucking all of Minho’s friends. Gally’s ace, Newt’s gay as a fucking rainbow, and-“

“And you?”

“And I’m not interested.” 

“Well that’s what they all said.” She shrugged lightly. 

“Already got my eyes on someone, but I’m sorry to disappoint.” Thomas shrugged, pocketing his hands. 

“Come on Thomas, don’t play games with me.” She smirked. “I’ve seen the way you look at me.”

“What- with disgust?” 

“No! With lust!” She huffed. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

“Molly, if you think the face I’m pulling is one of lust, maybe you should re-evaluate how many men actually like you, or wether they’re just disgusted by you.”

“Wha- they all like me. Otherwise why would they have fucked me?”

“Fear?” Molly huffed again. 

“Stop teasing! I know you want me.” She flicked her hair behind her shoulder. “There’s a bedroom right here. No one has to know.” 

“Oh right,” Thomas scoffed, “and what are you going to say when the others ask why we were gone for so long?” 

Molly seemed to light up at the prospect that he was considering it. 

“Well, if you’re that good, I’ll tell them the truth and leave with you.”

“And what if I’m really crap?”

“I’m sure you won’t be.” She put her hand on the door handle and opened it. “I mean look at those muscles.” She slowly backed up into the room. 

“Molly, I’m not having sex with you. And I’m going to tell Minho.” 

“He won’t believe you. Have you seen the way he looks at me? I’ve got him twisted around my little finger.”

“Minho’s love struck. Not stupid.” 

“You don’t want to come up against me Thomas. I could run crying to Min’ right now, and tell him you tried to kiss me! He’d never believe you over me.” 

“So you intimidate and blackmail men into having sex with you? You’re a real charmer you are.” 

“Oh I know.” Molly grinned, flicking her hair behind her shoulder again. “So, you coming or not?” 

-

The three wandered their way back into the living room, pizzas in hand. 

‘Hey Newt, when did Thomas show Molly the loo?’ Minho asked. 

‘About five minutes ago?’ Newt replied, sitting in his chair and looking through the boxes for his pizza. Gally could see the obvious concern on his friends face, and placed a hand on Minho’s shoulder. 

“You ok?” He asked. 

“Yeah. They’re probably just talking.” 

“Probably.” Gally nodded, before sitting down. “They’ll be in in a minute I’m sure.”

“You’re right.” Minho nodded, taking a deep breath and sitting down. “So what’s new?”

“Nothing much.” Gally sighed, passing Newt a box of garlic bread and turning to Minho. Newt started talking about a new employee he had at his job and Gally watched Minho. 

He was clearly anxious, shifting and running his hands through his hair. Gally could practically see the sweat, and he stopped to wonder why the hell Minho was with someone that made him that nervous when she was talking to another man.

‘And he- Min’, are you sure you’re ok?’ Newt frowned, apparently noticing it too. 

‘Molly wouldn’t do anything, would she? Right? I mean- I’m just overthinking it, aren’t I?’ He asked nervously. Gally and Newt glanced at each other. 

‘I mean,’ Newt shrugged. ‘Probably?’

‘Maybe.’ Gally admitted. ‘But if it’s making you this anxious, maybe you should be re-evaluating things?’

‘It’s not her fault. I mean, she’s done nothing wrong. It’s just me, I’m the issue. I’m just overthinking things.’

‘But why?’ Gally asked. ‘What has she done to make you so convinced that something might be going on?’

‘I don’t know- she- she flirts with other men. She’s constantly bragging about how many guys she’s slept with- she threatens to leave me for other men all the time.’ He rambled. Gally watched in surprise as Minho unravelled. 

‘And I love her- but she can be mean and- and I don’t trust her but what is a relationship without trust? I mean- most of the time she makes me really happy but sometimes I feel awful because I can’t trust her and she makes me feel bad about myself and that I can’t leave her because she’ll be upset.’ 

‘Ok mate, slow down.’ Gally put a hand on his shoulder. ‘This isn’t good. Any of this. Whilst she might make you happy most of the time, the fact that, this,’ He gesticulated to Minho, ‘is happening is a sign that something is very wrong, and you shouldn’t be in that relationship.’ 

‘You really think that?’ Minho was obviously distraught, and looking slightly dishevelled from his breakdown. 

‘You can’t be with someone without trust. It won’t work.’

‘I mean I guess, but what about-‘ there was a crash in the next room, and Minho shot up and raced in. 

Gally followed quickly, Newt catching on that something was going on and staying on Gallys tail. 

Gally peered over Minho’s shoulder, at the scene in Thomas’ bedroom. 

Molly was pressed against the wall, Thomas pressed against her and their lips locked together. Thomas was flailing, and shoved back from her as soon as Gally saw them. 

“What the fuck?!” Molly looked at Minho. 

“What are you doing??” Minho demanded. 

“I-“ 

“Fuck.” Newt whispered next to him. Gally glanced at him in surprise, before being drawn back into the scene when Thomas yelped. 

“It wasn’t- I- it was her!” 

-

Minhos world went crashing down around him. 

“Baby, I can explain.” Molly rushed over to him. “It wasn’t my fault- Thomas- he came onto me!” 

“Get out.” He said quietly. 

“What?” She stumbled, clearly taken aback. 

“Get out of my home.” He said coldly, eyes bolted to the wall behind him. His heart was throbbing with hurt and devastation. 

“But I-“

“You heard him.” Gally said harshly. “Leave.” He ushered her toward the door, and Minho glanced up. 

Newt had ahold of Thomas’ elbow, and was asking if he was alright. Thomas looked pale, and was staring at the woman being lead out. 

Molly made an indignant noise, and marched out of the room, Gally close behind her. 

“Jesus- Min- I’m so sorry.” Thomas said quietly. 

Minho looked at the ground. He heard the front door slam shut, and he wandered out of the room. 

“Do you want to talk?” Gally asked as he walked back toward his friends. 

Minho just shook his head. He wandered, almost in a trance like state, to his room, and closed the door. 

-

The three of them sat in silence for a long time, before anyone spoke up. 

‘Tommy, what happened in there?’ Newt asked. 

‘I was showing her to the bathroom. We stopped- she was chatting my ear off about having sex with me, but I wasn’t really listening. Then, she grabbed me, pushed herself against the wall to make it look like I came onto her, and kissed me. I stumbled slightly- that must have been what you guys heard.’

‘I can’t believe she did that.’ Newt shook his head. 

‘I can.’ Gally sighed. ‘We knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.’

‘It doesn’t make it any easier for Minho though.’ Newt replied. 

‘No, no it doesn’t.’ 

‘Maybe I’ll take him out.’ Thomas suggested. ‘Wait a couple days to get him back on his feet, then he and I can go back to some parties, make sure he doesn’t spend too much time wallowing.’

‘That’s a good idea.’ Gally nodded. 

‘As long as you make sure he doesn’t start drinking his feelings away.’ Newt chipped in. 

‘Yeah. That’ll be difficult, but I reckon I can distract him. There’s enough beautiful girls I’m sure.’ 

‘I hope he feels better soon. There are lots of girls out there that’ll treat him lots better.’ Newt sighed sadly. 

‘Yeah. But he doesn’t realise that right now. He’s just thinking about her.’ Gally shrugged. 

‘I know. But it’s better that it happened. He could’ve been hurt for a lot longer.’

‘I wasn’t expecting him to break up with her. I thought he’d find a way to blame me for it.’ Thomas admitted. 

‘I think really deep down, he knew we were right. I think he just needed the proof.’ Gally explained. 

Thomas sighed again. 

‘But, at least we’ve got our roommate back.’ 


	10. Ten

“It’s been a week. Has anyone seen him?” Thomas asked. Gally shrugged lightly, sitting on the couch opposite him. 

“Not really. Only when he comes out to eat and go to the loo.” 

‘He hasn’t been outside.’ Newt noted. ‘I thought you said you were going to take him out partying.’

‘I am. I just don’t want to intrude on his healing time I guess.’ Thomas shrugged helplessly. 

In all honestly he had no idea what to do. Minho had been hauled up in his room for a week, and Thomas had seen him about three times- all whilst his friend had bleary eyes and greasy hair. 

‘Well self care has clearly gone out the window. We might need to have an intervention at some point.’ Newt shrugged. 

‘Let’s leave it a couple more days. He might come out.’ Gally shrugged softly. 

‘I’m not so sure.’ Newt sighed. 

The door swung open suddenly, and Thomas glanced up in surprise. Minho was bleary eyed and clinging to the door handle like a life line. 

“...Min’?” Thomas asked softly and apprehensively. 

“I’m sorry.” His words came out hoarsely and brokenly. 

‘Sorry? Sorry for what?’ Newt asked, standing and coaxing Minho to sit down with a hand on the small of his back.

“Being with her made me bad.” He explained quietly. “I put her above anyone else. It was wrong.” His voice cracked. 

‘But we forgive you, remember?’ Newt had a soft, reassuring expression on his face. 

“I don’t deserve it.” Minho’s eyes were still welled up, and Thomas was shocked he even had any tears left. 

“You were blinded by love. It’s natural. And understandable.” He reassured. 

“But I was a dick.” Minho sniffed. “I hardly know anything about you guys- and- and that’s wrong. You were right. I needed a balance.”

“We can start again Min’. New slate.” Gally suggested. 

“Really?” Their friend looked up hopefully. “You’d do that for me?” 

‘Of course!’ Newt smiled. ‘We should have a night in, all of us. Where we do something together. Pretend none of this ever happened.’

“It’ll help you get your mind off it all too.” Thomas suggested. 

“I’d like that.” Their friend nodded quietly, wiping at his eyes and straightening. “I’ll pay for the takeaway.” 

-

‘Tommy.’ Newt grabbed his hand on the way past, pulling him gently into his room. 

‘What’s up?’ Thomas asked, frowning slightly. 

‘I wanted to check on you.’ He explained, shutting the door behind him. The brunette frowned in confusion. 

‘Why?’

‘Well, obviously a lot of the attentions on Minho, but you still got kissed forcibly. I just wanted to check that you were doing ok.’ 

‘Thank you.’ Thomas smiled softly. ‘I’m ok. Was just a little shaken for a couple days.’ 

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeah.’ He nodded. ‘Just, glad she’s gone. She made me super uncomfortable.’

‘I know.’ Newt sighed a little. ‘I had noticed, but I didn’t know what to do. I knew Minho wouldn’t listen if I tried to say something.’

‘It’s ok. I get it.’ His friend shrugged off lightly. 

‘I’m sorry I left you alone with her. I should’ve noticed something was wrong when she left with you.’ He frowned. Newt had had a slight guilt on his shoulders that day- whilst he knew what had happened was good for Minho and the others in the long run, he couldn’t help but feel slightly bad about what had happened to Thomas. 

‘Newt don’t be ridiculous. I won’t let you beat yourself up for something that was no ones fault but Molly’s. You know as well as I do that no matter what, she would’ve found an excuse to get me alone with her. It wasn’t your fault.’

‘I know.’ He sighed again. ‘You’re right.’ He said with more certainty. 

‘Always.’ Thomas grinned. Newt rolled his eyes fondly. 

‘Do you think Minho’s going to be ok?’

‘After a couple of parties? Yeah.’ Thomas nodded. ‘I’ve never got parties.’ 

‘Really? Thought they would’ve been your scene, since the musics so loud.’ Thomas shrugged. 

‘Not really. I just don’t really like crowds. There’s a lot of people and it stresses me out a little.’ 

‘You can always stay home with Gally then.’ Thomas suggested with a shrug. 

‘Oh I will. Quiet night with a book.’

‘Dork.’ 

‘I wanted to ask you something.’ Newt frowned slightly, and a small spark of worry set in Thomas. 

‘Yeah?’ 

‘It’s just that I was talking to Gally and Minho, they said you were quite protective of me. I guess I wanted to know why.’ 

Thomas frowned and glanced down at the floor in embarrassment. 

‘Well- I’m not sure really. I just care a lot about you. I hate to see people take advantage of your caring nature.’

‘But- it’s not because you don’t think I’m strong enough to do it myself?’ 

‘Of course not! I know you can hold your own, I just- I guess I just want to look out for you. Sorry. I can stop it it makes you uncomfortable.’ 

‘It’s ok, don’t worry.’ The blond reassured with a smile. ‘It doesn’t make me uncomfortable, I think it’s sweet. I just wondered why, since you don’t act that way for Minho or Gally.’ He explained. 

‘I don’t know, I guess it’s just different with you.’ He shrugged lightly. ‘I feel closer to you- in some ways.’

‘Oh. Well, so do I. If I think about it.’ Newt nodded slowly, smiling all the while. 

‘So,’ Thomas stepped carefully. ‘You’re not mad? It doesn’t make you uncomfortable?’

‘Not at all! Thank you.’ He smiled. 

‘No problem.’

-

“Chinese is here!” Minho called, arms full of boxes which he set up on the coffee table. His friends gathered around and opened them up, trying to determine who’s was who’s. 

“Chicken chow mien, give me that shit.” Thomas grabbed a box, Minho rolling his eyes fondly. 

He grabbed his own food, Newt snatching up the plain noodles and lemon chicken. 

They ate in silence for a while, watching the TV and only talking when asking each other for prawn crackers. 

“This is good.” Gally commented with a mouth full of seaweed. 

“Can I have a prawn toast?” Thomas asked, and Newt chucked him the box carefully. 

‘I love Chinese!’ 

‘Is there anything you don’t love Newt?’ Gally asked across the coffee table. 

‘Nazis.’ 

‘Bars pretty low then.’ Thomas scoffed to himself, Minho laughing. 

“Clearly” Minho scoffed. Newt stood up and grabbed the empty boxes, trotting into the kitchen. 

“What are we gonna do?”

“I think we should play a game.” Minho took the moment to suggest, his two friends glancing at each other in surprise. 

“Sure, what do you want to play?” Gally asked. 

‘What’s going on?’ Newt asked, emerging from the other room. 

‘Minho wants to play a game.’ Thomas explained. Newt made a little noise of excitement, and Minho watched Thomas smile fondly at him. 

‘What are we going to play?’ Newt demanded. 

‘What about,’ Minho thought for a moment. ‘Scrabble.’ 

-

“Rhino!” Gally announced, putting down the letters smugly. 

“What the fuck.” Thomas muttered under his breath. 

“Suck on that.” He grinned. Minho huffed through his nose, looking through his tiles for anything he could use. Whilst they waited, they turned their attention to the shitty TV that was playing in the background. 

Minho kept groaning and huffing. 

“Stop being such a spoilsport Min’, it was your idea to play scrabble.” Thomas scoffed. 

“It was a stupid idea.” He grumbled. 

Eventually, he put down ‘night’ and passed the turn to Newt. 

Newt had been fairly quiet all night, but seemed happy enough. He seemed more concentrated on the game than what his friends were talking about. 

He frowned deeply at his tiles for a while, and Gally turned his attention to the others.

It had been a quiet night, no arguments at all, and he was fairly sure that it was the first time it had happened. It was nice. Relaxed.

Minho seemed to be coming out of his shell a little more, chatting idly to Thomas about the crap show they were watching. 

Gally was really glad Minho seemed to not have held a grudge toward Thomas for what had happened- they all knew it really wasn’t Thomas’ fault, but there was a small part of him that worried Minho would’ve found some way to blame him for it and keep Molly around. 

At least he knew his friend wasn’t 100% blinded by love. 

‘I don’t know’ Newt signed exasperatedly. 

‘You need a little help?’ Thomas asked. 

‘If you could.’ The blond nodded. Thomas stood up and made his way over to the other side of the board, sitting down next to Newt. 

He started pointing and rearranging letters, and Gally watched curiously. 

He’d always thought it was strange- their relationship. 

Thomas and Newt hadn’t hung out any more than any of the others had, but they had the closest relationship. He wondered if Newt had had that talk with Thomas about his protectiveness yet. 

Eventually, Newt put down ‘garnet.’ 

‘Woah.’ Gally signed. 

‘Thanks Tommy.’ The blond grinned, Thomas just smiling back and sitting back down in his place. 

‘This is cheating, I’m not having that.’ Minho teased, Gally rolling his eyes fondly as the board moved to his turn. 

‘It’s not my fault I’m not as smart as you all.’ Newt huffed. 

‘Yes you are!’ Thomas frowned. ‘You’re really smart.’ 

‘How do you know?’ 

‘Because I do.’ The brunette nodded firmly. 

‘Right.’ Gally scoffed and put down ‘mars’, and turned the table to Thomas. 

‘I’m kinda bored of Scrabble.’ Minho commented. ‘You know what would make this so much more fun?’ 

‘What?’ 

‘If we were all drunk.’ His friend grinned. Gally raised an eyebrow. 

‘You’re all about getting drunk, huh?’

‘Come on! It’ll be fun!’ Minho grinned. The others exchanged a glance. 

‘I’m in.’ Thomas shrugged. 

‘Fine.’ Gally rolled his eyes. 

‘No thanks. I don’t like to drink.’ Newt politely declined. 

‘Aw, come on Newt.’ Minho encouraged. 

‘Leave it Min’. He doesn’t want too. It’s ok.’ Thomas smiled at Newt. 

-

Newt watched a little uncomfortably as the others laughed and drunkenly broke the rules of Scrabble. 

He was glad Minho was happy and smiling again, especially because he was bonding with Gally and Thomas, but drinking had always made Newt uncomfortable. 

He wasn’t sure what it was specifically- he knew he despised the feeling of being drunk. He thought it might also be a little bit of the fact that it was difficult to actually communicate when they were drunk. People forgot a lot of signs, and Newt often struggled to get their attention. So he watched, slightly detachedly, as the others giggled and tried to think of the rudest word they could and sloppily put it on the scrabble board. 

Newt glanced at Thomas, who was gesticulating at him, and he raised his eyebrows. The brunette pointed to the board, where it said, 

‘Nemt I love n’ He frowned a little, before smiling and rolling his eyes fondly. 

‘I love you too Tommy.’ 

Thomas grinned giddily at him, before slamming down the world ‘pee pee’ on the board. 

Part of him wanted to go to bed and leave them to it, but he wondered if they needed someone to look out for them. 

Gally didn’t seem that drunk, borderline at most. 

Newt clicked at him, and his friend glanced up. 

‘I might go get some sleep.’ 

‘Ok mate. I’ll look after these two idiots.’ 

Huh. Sensible drunk. 

‘Thank you.’ Newt smiled, standing and grabbing his book from the arm of his chair, before wandering off to bed. 

He closed his door and lay down, tired but content. He was glad his roommates were all finally getting along, and he hoped one day they could have a real laugh, without alcohol being involved. 

He liked his friends, and appreciated what they had done for him a lot. Gally was genuine and sensible, level headed and shy. Whilst he was mostly reserved, Newt thought he was really funny, and found him easy to get on with. 

Thomas, whilst hot headed and short tempered, was sweet. Newt did appreciate how much he cared about him, and how willing he was to give people second chances. He really, really liked Thomas. 

Minho was a good person, Newt could see that from a mile away. Whilst slightly naive and hurting, he was kind and intelligent, and the blond admired how much he cared about people. 

Whilst they’d had a rocky start together, Newt could really see the whole roommate thing working out. Which was good, considering the fact they’d bee living together for almost four months. 

Newt enjoyed their company, and was glad to have them as roommates. 

He just hoped nothing went wrong for them again. 


	11. Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEET THIS CHAPTER IS HELLA LATE SORRY

“Hey, Gally?” Thomas asked, slumping on his bed. Gally blinked at him- clearly his friend thought there was no need to knock. 

“..yeah?”

“I need advice.” Thomas explained. 

“On what, exactly?” Gally raised an eyebrow and took out one headphone. 

“Love.” His friend slumped, and Gally shrivelled up his nose. 

“Why are you asking me, mate? I know absolutely nothing about love. Why don’t you ask Min’, or Newt?” 

“I feel like bringing up love with Minho will trigger some kind of war flashback, and I didn’t want to go to Newt. I wanted to go to you.” He said confidently. 

“..ok?” Gally sighed and put his laptop to one side.“What do you want advice on?” 

“I have a crush.” His eyebrows raised- he hadn’t really seen that coming. 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah. And I don’t know what to do about it.” Thomas explained exasperatedly. 

“..tell them?” Gally guessed. He honestly had no idea what to say. 

“It’s more complicated than that.” His friend huffed frustratedly. “You see- they’re a good friend, and I don’t want to mess anything up. And..I see them- a lot. If it was made awkward I’d lose more than just them.” 

It wasn’t helping that Thomas was being so cryptic, and Gally ran a hand over his face. 

“Right. Ok- so..do you think this persons a good one?” 

“Yeah.” He nodded. 

“An understanding, considerate one?”

“Yeah.”

“Then there’s no problem.” He shrugged. Thomas scrunched up his face in confusion. 

“How?” 

“Well- If this person is as understanding as you seem to think they are, nothing will change. Even if they don’t feel the same way, they won’t make it weird and you won’t lose their friendship, or whatever else you were going to lose.” 

“I know that is the most likely outcome- I’m just scared I’ll accidentally make them uncomfortable.” 

“..just in general?” 

“No, when I’m- like- confessing. What if I say the wrong thing and it makes them uncomfortable and they want me to leave?” 

“Then write it out first. Plan it- and you won’t cock it up.”

“I cock up a lot.” 

“I’m pretty sure you couldn’t cock up saying ‘I like you and I want to be with you’ badly enough to the point where they never want to see you again.” Gally deadpanned. Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Ok- maybe you could, but you’re most likely not going too. You’re less of a dumbass than you give yourself credit for.” 

“I know. And I’m in my head too much- I just can’t help it. I want to get this right. I really do.”

“So plan it. Plan every little pause if that makes you feel better. Do what you have to do to make sure you don’t cock it up.” He smiled.

“I’m just nervous.” 

“I know.” 

“Should- I mean- do you think I should ask them on a date?” He asked nervously. 

“Sure. If you want to go on a date with them.” Gally nodded. 

“I do.”

“Then go for it.” 

“I- I wouldn’t know where to start. I don’t know where good date places are. I don’t want to make them uncomfortable.”

“Picnics, cinema, bowling, park walk. There’s lots to do around here.” 

“I guess we could go bowling. The lights are a little low though.” He frowned to himself. 

“Why does that matter?” Gally asked confusedly. 

“I- I just- want to be able to see them.”

“Jesus, you’re whipped, huh?” 

“You don’t have to point it out.” He grumbled embarrassedly. Gally patted him on the shoulder. 

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. And you’ll ask, and tell me how it goes afterwards?” 

“Do you really think I should do it?” 

“Well how the hell are you going to know if they like you or not if you don’t?” 

“Oh- I mean- I don’t think they do. But- I guess it couldn’t hurt.” 

“Even if they don’t want to go on a date, you could suggest just going as friends. Who knows- maybe a date setting could get them to notice a spark?” He shrugged lightly. 

“You’re really good at giving relationship advice.” Thomas noted, Gally only shrugging and plugging his left headphone back in. 

“I know how people work.”

“Have you ever been in a relationship?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” He playfully edged Thomas off his bed. 

“Does being mysterious ever get boring?” 

“Never.” Thomas rolled his eyes and made it over to the door. 

“I’ll tell you how it goes.”

“Good that.” 

-

Newt glanced up from his bed when Thomas wandered in awkwardly. 

‘Hi.’ 

‘Hey.’ He grinned at his friend, who perched on the end of his bed. Newt could immediately tell something was up. ‘Is everything ok?’ 

‘Yeah!’ Thomas reassured. ‘I just- how are you?’ 

‘I’m alright. How are you?’ Newt asked amusedly. Thomas seemed so off, he hoped nothing was wrong. 

‘I’m good.’ Thomas rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Yeah. I’m good.’ 

‘Always good to know.’ Newt nodded. ‘Is there something I can help you with?’ 

‘Yeah actually.’ His friend took a deep breath. ‘I wanted to ask you something.’ 

‘Anything.’ He smiled encouragingly.

‘It’s- well- you see-‘ Thomas’ signing became so sloppy and random that Newt lost track of what he was saying. He wondered why Thomas was so on edge. 

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that.’ 

Thomas apologised whilst fumbling, before taking a shaky breath. 

‘I was just wondering..’ 

‘Yeah?’ 

‘..if...’

‘If?’

‘If you..would..’ 

Newt watched him encouragingly. 

‘I wanted to know if you could cook dinner.’ 

Newt frowned at him. What the hell? Why had Thomas been so nervous to say that?

‘Yeah. Sure.’ He nodded. ‘Is that..all you wanted to ask?’

‘Yep! Definitely all!’ His friend plastered a huge grin on his face, and Newt just smiled. 

‘Ok.’ 

‘Actually- I was wondering something.’ 

‘Sure.’ 

‘You can tell me if this is too personal- I just wanted to know, how things were going with you recently.....love wise.’

‘Like if I’m dating anyone?’

‘Yeah!’

‘Why do you ask?’ Newt cocked his head to the side. 

‘Oh- just curiosity. Wanted to check in on how things were with you. I can stop if you’re uncomfortable.’ He immediately back tracked. 

‘No it’s alright don’t worry.’ He reassured. ‘I’m not dating right now- at least- I’m not actively looking for a partner. If something spontaneous were to spring up I’d probably see where it went, but I’m not on dating apps.’ 

‘Interesting.’ Thomas nodded thoughtfully, seemingly put at some kind of ease. ‘But- I suppose you don’t have much of a chance to interact with new people. You don’t go out partying.’ 

‘No, but I’ve met people in other places. There’s a really nice guy who sometimes comes into my work. He really likes me- he’s sweet. Learnt a bit of sign language so we could talk.’

‘Sounds..great.’

‘He is, but I don’t think we’d work out.’

‘How come?’

‘He’s sweet- just not my type. Maybe if I saw him more so we could talk more I’d give him a chance.’ 

‘Shame.’ Thomas nodded. ‘Are there any other guys?’ 

‘Not regular ones. A lot of people flirting at work but I hardly see them more than once.’ 

‘That’s good in some ways though. They could be giant stalkers.’ He hypothesised. 

‘They could. Or they could be the love of my life.’ Newt scoffed. 

‘I doubt it.’ 

‘How come?’

‘Just got a feeling- the love of your life will be someone you know really well already.’ 

-

Thomas slumped on Gally’s bed again. 

“How did it go?” His friend asked. 

“Awful.” Thomas covered his eyes with his arms, ashamed at his own cowardice. 

“Did they say no?” Gally frowned, clearly surprised at such a concept. 

“No. I didn’t ask him.” Thomas sighed. 

“What, why not?” 

“I just pussied out!” He cried exasperatedly. 

“Ok, calm down. Just talk me through what happened.” His friend sat forward, giving the wallowing man his full attention. 

“I went in there- I was so nervous- he noticed from a mile away. I got to ‘would you like to’ then bailed and asked him to cook dinner.” 

“Christ.”

“And then I made it more awkward.” He gesticulated furiously. 

“How?”

“I asked him a bunch of questions on his dating life. And then I said ‘I have a feeling the love of your life will be someone you know really well already.’ I mean, how fucking cheesy is that!?”

“That’s pretty bad.” Gally admitted. “What did you find out about his dating life? I mean- that informations one good thing out of that hot mess, right?”

Thomas sighed. 

“He said he’s not actively dating. He said if he meets someone by chance he’ll go for it.”

“So he’s not seeing anyone?” Gally asked hopefully. 

“No- but he said this guy who flirts with him at work is pretty cute. He’s probably ugly as hell.” Thomas pouted childishly. 

“Which is why you need to get in there before cute work guy!” Gally demanded determinedly. 

“How?” 

“What do you mean how? I told you how, and you backed out.” His friend huffed. 

“I know. I just- he makes me nervous.”

“No shit.” 

“Shut up.” Thomas rolled his eyes. “I want to do it well- I don’t want to mess it up. I really like him.”

“Are you planning on telling me who it is? Then- well maybe I can help it be a little more..personalised?” 

Thomas sighed and ran a hand over his face. 

“It’s Newt.”

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“Ok.” Gally frowned slightly, biting his lip. “Hm. Well- why are you so worried? Newts the nicest person on the planet.”

“I know- I just..I really want it to go well. I’m not sure this is a good idea. He’s never shown any signs of liking me. I don’t see this ending well.”

“You’re never going to find out if you sit around here wallowing.”

“I know.” Thomas sighed. “Do you think- do you think there’s a chance he likes me?”

“Honestly, yeah.” Gally nodded, putting his head back against the wall. “I mean- you spend so much time together, and he definitely likes you the most.”

“Newt doesn’t have favourites.” He scoffed. 

“Uh- yes he does and it’s you. He literally adores you.”

“Really?” Thomas frowned.

“Honestly man, I think you have a shot here.”

“Maybe.” He frowned. “But- do you think I should make it a bit more personalised- like you suggested?”

“Maybe. What does Newt like?”

“Quiet nights in. I’m not sure he’d want to do anything too extravagant.”

“Well- maybe just stick to the plan then. Take him bowling, just you and him. Bit of friendly competition.”

“The whole point is that I want it to be more than friendly though.”

“So..flirty competition. Either way- you’re an attractive dude Thomas. I’m sure you’ve pulled enough times to know how to play this right. As long as you don’t get too nervous.”

“But that’s the thing. I used to be so good at flirting when I partied more. I’d almost never lose- but- it’s different. He makes me really nervous, it’s so unlike me. I try to calm down but I just, I really want to impress him. I want to make him happy.”

“Because there’s a difference between wanting a hookup. And wanting a relationship. You don’t just want to bang Newt and ditch him, do you?”

“No.”

“Well then there it is. He makes you nervous because you want this to be a long term thing. That’s good.”

“But how do I not get nervous?”

“Uh-“ Gally frowned for a long while. “I think- you’ve just got to think of him as if he was someone you’d want a hookup with?”

“What? How is that going to help?” He frowned. 

“Well- you won’t feel as much pressure to get every little thing right- which is good because you were never going to be able too. And if you think about it that way, it makes it easier to flirt.”

“I’m not sure.” He frowned. 

“Mate, you have to pull it together. What if Newt goes to work tomorrow and the cute guy waltzes in and sweeps him off his feet. He takes him for coffee after work, they laugh and chat- stroll through the park together. Share a kiss in the sunset- and Newt comes back with him, who he’s really in love with, and you have to listen to them bang all night! Is that what you want??” He demanded. 

“No?” Thomas said unsurely. “No. It’s not.”

“Then go back out there and get that damn bowling date!”

-

Thomas glared at Newt’s closed door. He’d been sat outside on the couch for twenty minutes, trying to work up the courage to go in there. He’d been confident when he’d left Gally’s room, but as soon as he got to the door it had left and he’d flopped again. 

He knew his friend was right. Thomas had to act quickly- especially since Newt thought someone else was cute. 

“I can do it.” Thomas told himself. “I can.” 

“What are you doing?” Minho raised his eyebrow as he appeared from the kitchen. 

“I’m trying to work up the courage to go and ask Newt on a date.” He explained bluntly. 

“Oh.” He hummed. “And how long have you been sitting there?” 

“Twenty minutes.” 

“Well if it’s any incentive- Newt’s been texting someone all day with a big smile on his face.”

“Wha-“ Thomas shook his head. “You don’t know that it’s not a family member- or something.”

“Sure. It might be.” He shrugged. “But it might not be.” And with that Minho disappeared. 

Thomas groaned and ran a hand over his face. 

They were right. 

He pushed himself up and marched towards the door. Swallowing tightly, he knocked on the door. When there was no reply, Thomas smacked himself on the forehead and gently pushed the door open, not wanting to disturb Newt. 

The blond was sat on his bed still, texting someone- like Minho said. He glanced up at Thomas, and smiled widely.

‘You again.’ Newt joked. Thomas laughed awkwardly. 

‘Me again.’ He confirmed. 

‘Are you gonna ask me to make breakfast now?’

‘Oh- no- I’m really sorry about that.’ Thomas sighed, sitting down on the end of his bed. 

‘It’s ok. But- Tommy- is everything ok? You’ve seemed- quiet all day today. Slightly off.’

‘Yeah- I just- I wanted to ask you something. Something else. If that was ok.’ He rambled slightly. 

‘Sure is.’

‘I was wondering..if you wanted to go- bowling..with me- tomorrow?’ He subconsciously held his breath, as Newt cocked his head to the side. 

‘With Gally and Minho?’

‘No- just- just me.’ 

‘Sure!’ Thomas let out a deep sigh of relief at Newt’s huge smile. ‘Why haven’t we done that before?’

‘I’m not sure. We should’ve done.’

‘Yeah. You’re such a good friend- but I don’t feel like I know much about you.’ The blond smiled, and Thomas swallowed. He forced out a smile. 

Friend. That seemed bad. Did Newt see this as a friend thing? 

‘It’s mutual.’ He got out. 

‘I’ll come. As long as I pay for lunch afterwards.’

‘What? No way. I’m taking you out- I’ll pay.’

‘But you’ll be paying for the bowling too?’

‘Don’t worry about it. My treat.’ He smiled. This was not going well. Almost all thoughts and plans he had on flirting were out the window, and he wanted to smack himself for being so flustered and bumbling. 

‘Fine. Then I’m paying next time.’

‘Fine.’ Thomas wouldn’t let that happen, but Newt didn’t need to know that. 

‘I’m excited! I don’t get invited out much.’ The blond grinned warmly. 

‘Well- I’m glad I can make you happy.’

‘You do seem to be quite good at it.’ Thomas wouldn’t ever admit it, but he was melting. Just a tiny bit. 

‘Thank you. I do it for your smile. It’s beautiful.’

‘O- Oh. Thank you. It’s my mothers.’ He laughed softly. 

‘Well- Tell her thank you. I can’t even remember how grey life must have been before it was in my life.’ Newt scoffed slightly- the loudest noise Thomas had ever managed to get. He’d heard Newt had sworn when he’d been caught with Molly though. Part of him was bummed for missing it.

‘Jesus- you’re smooth.’ He grinned. ‘Can’t imagine what you do to the girls.’ 

‘Well- Not much. I haven’t hooked up since I moved in.’

‘Well done. That’s really considerate.’ Newt scoffed. 

‘I’m not being considerate. I’ve just got no one to bang.’

Newt giggled at that. 

-

Minho peaked into Thomas’ room, and glanced back at Gally, who raised an eyebrow at their friends behaviour. 

Thomas had been pacing back and forth for the last ten minutes- and Minho was getting restless just watching it. 

‘Should we go in?’ Minho signed at Gally. 

‘Yeah.’ His friend nodded. Minho stood up from where he was crouched and opened the door. 

“Thomas?” The man stopped pacing and glanced at the two of them in the doorway. “You wanna talk?” He asked. 

Thomas slumped onto his bed with a loud groan, and the two friends took that as an invitation in. Gally sat at the foot of the bed, Minho standing and leaning on the wardrobe. 

“Did it not go well?” Gally asked, clearly tired with how long this situation had been going on. 

“No- I- it- I don’t know.” Thomas grumbled, staring at the ceiling. 

“Did he say yes?” Minho asked. 

“Yeah.” Thomas sighed. 

“Then what the fuck are you wallowing for?”

“Because he didn’t pick up on the fact I was asking him on a date. He just thinks it’s a friends thing.” 

“Thomas- how did you manage that??” Gally asked exasperatedly, “I told you to flirt with him!”

“I know! But I- I just panicked. I was trying but I was just a mess. And now he thinks we’re going out as friends and he still thinks work guy is cute!” 

“You can still come back from this Thomas, it’s not the end of the world.” Minho said calmly. Thomas looked up. 

“How is this not the end of the world?”

“Because- you haven’t had the date yet. Sure- you cocked up asking him on the date, but you haven’t been on it. All the flirting can be done on the date.” 

“He’s right.” Gally nodded. 

“Make it the most obvious flirting in the world- and try not to get nervous, even Newt’s oblivious ass will see you like him!” He explained. 

“Do you think so? I mean- he’s really fucking oblivious.” Thomas raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, he is. But- he’s not stone. You play it right, he will have fallen for you by the end of the date.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s susceptible to the Thomas charm.”

“The what now?” Thomas frowned. 

“Listen to me man. You’re charming, you’re attractive, you’re funny. I mean- Newt finds you hilarious. You’re everything Newt likes in a person. All you’ve got to do is make him realise it.” 


	12. Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if chapters are a bit late for a couple weeks, I’ve got revision and exams :(

Gally waved their friends off, and turned to Minho with a grin when Thomas shut the door. 

“How do you think it’ll go?” He asked, flopping on the couch. 

“I’m not sure. I think if Thomas was going to make a move, Newt would go for it. But I’m not sure Thomas has the balls to do it.”

“I hope he does. I don’t wanna put up with his whining anymore.” Gally laughed. He was kidding of course- he loved his friend. But he’d prefer to not have the constant reminder of how single he was himself. Minho laughed with his head back, and Gally felt a fond smile on his face. 

“Yeah. I hope so too. I think they’d make each other happy.” He hummed. 

“Not sure I want to hear them banging though. This could be a terrible thing.” He scrunched up his nose in disgust. 

“Let’s just hope Newt’s as quiet when he’s having sex as he is usually.” Minho shrugged, leaning forward and grabbing a prawn cracker from the table. 

“Doesn’t mean Thomas will be.” Gally scoffed. 

“That is true. Unfortunately.” Minho laughed again. 

“It does feel odd without them. What should we do?” He hummed, slouching slightly with the new space. 

“Watch something? There’s this new drama on Netflix, we could watch that.”

“Sounds good.” He threw the remote at Minho, who caught it and turned on theTV, flicking through until he found what he was looking for. 

“This looks like the cheesiest thing I’ve ever seen.” Gally scoffed at the preview. 

“Uh- don’t be rude! You haven’t even given it a chance.” His friend faked offence. 

“The whole point of a preview is to entice me. And it didn’t do that. Therefore- awful.” He shrugged simply. 

“That’s very small minded of you my friend.” Minho scolded lightly, putting on the show and sitting back. Gally rolled his eyes fondly, but sat back too to give it a chance. 

“Fine.” 

They sat in silence for a while, watching the show. Gally found it incredibly cheesy, and kept laughing at parts that were supposed to be serious. When he lost it at a murder, he got a pillow to the face. 

“Shut up!” Minho cried over-dramatically. 

“How can you watch this and not laugh?” He scoffed. 

“It’s not funny, it’s serious!” He insisted. 

“Ok ok.” Gally laughed quietly, allowing Minho- who seemed completely invested- to enjoy the show.

He glanced at Minho, who was watching the show with wide eyes. 

It had been two months since the Molly fiasco, and he was looking on better form. Gally knew he’d been to some parties and hooked up with people- thankfully he’d gone to their house. 

Minho had told them about the one time he’d seen Molly at a party. 

He said he’d seen her dancing with a man- he’d been too shocked to move. That was until another man came over, and began yelling at Molly and her friend. Minho could only assume that was her boyfriend. 

He’d seem fairly jovial telling the story, but Gally could see he was upset. It had been hard on Minho, and Gally was sure he missed the times she was nice and funny. So he and the others did their best to remind Minho that there were way better girls for him out there, and that he could be happy without the fear of cheating. 

Gally wanted that for him. He dearly wanted Minho to be happy- as he wanted Thomas and Newt to be happy. 

But he wanted that too. 

He’d never admit it, but there was a small part of him that wished he could have what the others had- assuming everything went well with Thomas and Newt of course. He wanted to be with someone, he wanted to be special to someone, to make someone happy and to be happy. 

Still, he sighed and stopped staring at his friend. 

“You’re right. This is pretty cheesy huh?” Minho scoffed. 

“Yeah no shit.”

“Should we watch the second episode?”

“Duh.”

-

Thomas swallowed his nerves, waiting with Newt at the counter for their bowling shoes. 

Newt had been adorably rambling on about his job on the way there, and whilst Thomas could spend all of his time watching Newt ramble, he just could not concentrate. He was trying so desperately to figure out what to say or what to do to make it clear that he was interested in his roommate. 

“Hi how can I help?” The employee asked dully. 

“Two pairs of bowling shoes and a lane please.” Thomas smiled before turning to Newt. ‘Do you want to order us some drinks?’ He asked. 

Newt nodded and wandered off to the bar. 

“What sizes?” The employee asked. 

“Nine and seven please.” He glanced over to see Newt scribbling something down to the bartender, who had cocked his head in an attempt to read what the blond was writing. 

The shoes were put in front of him, bringing Thomas’ attention back to them. 

“You’re in lane four.” 

Thomas nodded and payed, before heading over to the lanes with his shoes in hand. He put Newt’s smaller shoes on the floor, and began to lean down and tie his laces. 

“Thomas!” He glanced up, looking around for who said his name. He caught eye contact with Newt, who asked ‘what do you want?’

‘A beer please.’ He informed, fairly dazed. 

Newt has said his name- yes it had been fairly distorted- but it was Newt’s voice. Clearly British, clearly unused, and Thomas wanted to hear more. 

He shook off the revelation as Newt sat down opposite him, smiling widely and toeing off his shoes. 

Thomas grinned back, and began to input their names on the old TV screens above their heads.

Eventually, when the names were done and shoes were tied, Newt picked up a ball and grinned at Thomas. The brunette smiled warmly as Newt threw the ball- more upward than forward, and hit six pins. 

He turned and bounced back toward Thomas, who clapped. 

‘I can’t remember the last time I went bowling.’ Newt smiled before picking up another ball. 

‘Well a six is pretty good for a first go.’ Thomas considered. Newt beamed and threw his second ball- he knocked down two. 

Thomas stood up and grinned. 

‘That was good! But this’ll be better.’

‘You wish.’ Newt scoffed as he trotted petulantly past whilst Thomas picked up a ball. 

As cheesy as it sounded- he really wanted to Impress Newt- wanted to show him that he was strong. 

He threw the ball- and knocked down seven. Not bad for a first go, but not a strike. He took a deep breath, smiled at Newt applauding him, and picked up his second ball. 

He threw again. 

Gutter. 

Thomas cursed under his breath, only to turn to a very smug looking Newt. The blond looked incredibly pleased by the prospect that he could win. Thomas wondered wether impressing Newt was really worth it- or wether he should let his friend win.

Thomas pondered whilst Newt threw a three and then a four. Not terrible- but apparently good enough to make Newt look like he just won the fucking lottery. Thomas smiled fondly. 

‘That was good!’ He encouraged.

‘Hell yeah it was!’ Newt sat down with a flourish as Thomas stood up. 

He threw his two balls, and grinned when he got a spare. 

The blond pouted childishly when Thomas turned around, looking incredibly smug. 

‘Sore loser.’ He teased. 

‘I can’t be a sore loser if I’m going to win.’ Newt shrugged, before waltzing past Thomas, who had his eyebrows raised, and throwing the ball. 

He got a strike. 

Newt turned with the hugest smile on his face, and Thomas sighed to himself. 

This wasn’t his plan. He never intended to fall for one of his roommates, he wasn’t even sure he’d be friends with all of them. But he couldn’t help it.

Under the florescent lights, Thomas’ heart ached for Newt. His dark eyes were sparkling with joy, and his hair was all kinds of neon colours. He wanted nothing more than to tell Newt, for Newt to look at him the way he knew he looked at the blond. He wanted Newt to know how beautiful he was, he wanted him to know how special he was. How Thomas had never met a more compassionate, wonderful, gentle person. He wanted Newt to know he loved him. 

Woah.

Love was a strong word. 

Thomas wasn’t sure he’d ever been in love before- but..it felt right. I felt like love. 

Christ. This was only going to go so well. 

‘Earth to Tommy.’ Newt giggled, waving his hand in front of Thomas’ face. 

‘Sorry.’ Thomas shook himself out of his internal monologue and stood up to take his go. 

He wasn’t sure he could do it. He wasn’t sure he could make a move. It was too soon- this was too important to him to throw it away on a simple bowling date. Not that Newt even thought it was a date.

He threw the ball without much care- four. 

Thomas knew he had to pull himself together, he was all kinds of messed up. He took a deep breath. It was fine. He didn’t have to do anything today.

Besides, maybe Gally was right. Maybe Newt would realise there was a spark between them. Maybe he could help Newt realise it, by just being himself. 

-

It was the end of the game. Thomas was winning. If he got this Newt had no chance. 

Newt was looking almost nervous- Thomas could tell he was quite competitive. 

He glanced over his shoulder at his friend, who smiled. Turning back to the alley, he rolled his eyes fondly and threw the ball. It was in the gutter in about two seconds. 

Newt made a noise of excitement behind him, knowing he had a chance to win. Thomas huffed and slumped back down. 

‘Aw c’mon Tommy, don’t be a sore loser.’ Newt teased lightly. 

‘I’m not. I let you win.’ He shrugged truthfully. 

‘Yeah right. I’m just better than you.’ His crush bounced up and threw his two balls. Seven. He had won. 

Newt cheered and grinned widely, Thomas’ heart melting as he pretended to be annoyed. 

‘Well played, well played.’ He reached out and shook Newt’s hand, who stuck his tongue out. ‘Mature.’ Thomas laughed. 

‘You know me.’ The blond shrugged. He turned to grab his bag and coat off of the chair, when Thomas gently placed a hand on his shoulder and spun him around. 

‘Newt?’

‘Yeah?’ He raised his eyebrows curiously. 

‘I just wanted you to know- that I think you’re incredible. You’ve made me feel so welcome- and despite everything you’re the sweetest person on the planet. You’re funny and you’re beautiful- inside and out. I just- I just don’t think you get told that enough. I don’t want anyone to take you for granted- no matter what. All of your friends better treat you amazingly. And...and if you end up with someone- like the cute guy from work- I..I hope he knows that if he doesn’t treat you like a damn monarch then I’m coming to beat him up because that’s what you deserve. You’re the most selfless, compassionate, amazing person I’ve ever met and i don’t want anyone to forget it.’ 

Even under the low lights, Thomas could see that Newt was flushed red.

‘Tommy. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.’ He sighed slowly.

He hugged him tightly, and Thomas let out a soft sigh.

Maybe another day. 

-

“Hey!” Minho greeted Thomas and Newt when they came home, watching Thomas’ friend eagerly for any signs that it went well. 

‘Hey!’ Newt smiled warmly, as Gally appeared from the kitchen hurriedly. 

‘How did it go?’ He asked- more to Thomas than to Newt. 

‘I won!’ The blond replied smugly. 

‘I let you win.’ The brunette corrected. 

‘In your dreams.’ Newt rolled his eyes and wandered off toward the kitchen. 

“Well?” Gally hissed.

“I couldn’t do it.” Thomas’ friends slumped in disappointment. “But hear me out! I couldn’t do it- because I realised- that..this isn’t just a crush. I- I think I love him. And I want him to feel like the most special person in the world. I want to ask him in the best place- when he actually realises it’s a date. I want it to be perfect and it didn’t feel perfect today.”

“Thomas..” Minho trailed off. He wasn’t sure what to say. He hasn’t been expecting his friend to be so eloquent and sure of his feelings. 

“Love is a strong word.” Gally said quietly. 

“I know- but it’s true. I do love him.”

“Aren’t you worried about the guy at work though?” Minho asked with a frown. 

“Yeah..but- I can wait. I want it to be as perfect as possible- I can wait. And if he ends up with work guy then..then that’s ok by me and as long as he makes Newt happy- I can’t come between them.” 

Minho and Gally glanced at each other. 

“You went on a bowling trip and came back mature. What the fuck happened?” Gally scoffed- almost in disbelief. 

“I just realised how much I want him to be happy.” Thomas shrugged. His phone rang in his back pocket and he pulled it out. “Hang on.” He swerved past the two of them and into the room next door to take the call. 

“Well I’ll be damned.” Minho scoffed, thoroughly surprised at the kind of person Thomas was being. 

“Do you think Newt has any feelings for him?” His friend asked. 

“I’m not sure. Do you think we should ask?” 

“Maybe. I don’t want to blow anything for Thomas though, he seems to have this whole thing in the bag.”

“Yeah.” He hummed in thought when Newt reappeared. 

‘Where’s Tommy gone?’ He immediately asked. 

‘He’s just taking a call.’ Gally reported back. Speaking of the devil, Thomas trailed through the door, head down and pale. 

‘Tommy? Is everything ok?’ Thomas barely caught it with his head hung so low. 

“Thomas, What happened?” Minho asked. The brunette ran a hand over his face. 

“I lost my job. The restaurants closing.” He said quietly. 

“Shit man.” Minho took his by the shoulder as Gally explained to Newt, leading the brunette and sitting him on the couch. The others sat next to him. 

“What happened?”

“I- I don’t know. It just went under. I had no idea.” He murmured- clearly in shock. 

“I thought you didn’t like that job.” Gally frowned slightly. 

“I didn’t- but it was stable. I could pay for my part of the rent- the groceries. What am I going to do if I can’t get money for us?”

‘Look for a job whilst we cover for you.’ Newt suggested gently. 

‘But-‘

‘You’d do the same for us. It’s only fair Tommy.’ He smiled. 

“And we’ll help you look for jobs.” Minho shrugged. 

“Are you sure? You don’t have to do that.”

“Well we want to so don’t sweat it. Right guys?”

“Of course.” Gally shrugged lightly. “Maybe you can get a job that’s more suited to what you want to do.” 

“Maybe. I’d like that.” He admitted. 

‘We’ll help you.’ Newt grinned. ‘And you’ll get a great job that you’ll love!’ 

Thomas smiled. 

“Thank you. It means a lot.”

“Don’t sweat it. Just make sure the next job you get brings in the money or I’ll stop being so generous.” Minho threatened teasingly. 

“I’ll try my best.” 


	13. Thirteen

‘Thanks for doing this Newt. You didn’t have too.’ Thomas sighed slightly as they wandered through the streets. They’d been into town, searching on foot for any places offering jobs. They had been searching online- but they’d both decided that the living room had gotten too stuffy, and so they’d ventured out for coffee- running the slight chance of finding a job opening on foot. 

‘Of course.’ Newt smiled reassuringly. ‘Try not to be disheartened Tommy. We’ve only been at it for a couple days.’

‘I just don’t feel qualified enough for anything.’ He admitted defeatedly. 

‘Of course you are!’ The blond reassured. ‘You’ve got better qualifications than most people actually.’ He shrugged lightly. 

‘Not good enough to get anything more than a waitering job.’

‘Well you don’t know that yet. You can’t accept defeat before we’ve even started.’

‘It’s just difficult for me- to fail.’ He looked at his feet, which were dragging with disappointment. 

‘Why? Everyone does it.’ Newt reassured. 

‘I know. But- that prestigious family thing.’ He signed slowly. 

‘What do you mean?’ 

‘My parents are- always were high achievers. Being their only kid, you’d think it would be better. No incredibly intelligent sibling to live up too. But my mom and dad, whilst I love them, were always very pushy when it came to me doing well. They wanted me to get the degrees they had, go into the same career. It’s just difficult to have that constant pressure of success drilled into you- and I’ve still got it.’

‘Thomas,’ Newt stopped walking and turned to face him, thinking out his words carefully, ‘we are in our bodies for our entire lives. From start to finish. And- that means that the person you should be living for, is you. Not your parents, not your friends. You. You do what makes you happy, because what the fuck else is life for?’

‘I know that. In a small part of my brain, and I want to listen to that part more. But it’s just difficult- what my parents told me is so engrained in my head.’

Newt sighed a little. 

‘Well, you’re not living with your parents anymore, so just try and forget they exist.’

‘..what?’ Thomas blinked.

‘You know what I mean. Forget everything they taught you. Or- most things. Remember the stuff about not talking to strangers and not putting your head in the oven.’

‘..ok?’

‘Forget about all the stuff they said about what you should achieve.’ Newt elaborated. ‘Just focus on us now. Me, and Minho and Gally. We’re the influences around you, and we’re saying that you shouldn’t put yourself under so much pressure- you should do what makes you happy.’

‘But I’m not sure what that is.’ Thomas admitted shyly. 

‘Well- do you know what you want to do when you’re older?’

‘No.’

‘Do you know what makes you happy.’

‘Yeah. My family. My friends. You.’ 

‘Aww! You make me happy too!’ Newt grinned. ‘But I was thinking more along the lines of hobbies.’

‘Oh.’ He frowned. ‘I haven’t really got time for hobbies. I haven’t got any at the moment.’

‘Well- that’s ok. We’ll get you a good job that you’re happy in- in the meantime. Whilst you’re figuring stuff out.’

‘Ok.’ Thomas nodded slowly. ‘But what kind of a job would that be?’

‘I don’t know, that’s what we’ve got to figure out. You didn’t enjoy your last job so no waitering. No retail because, trust me that makes nobody happy.’

‘There’s not much left is there?’ Thomas sighed. 

‘I don’t know, and that’s why we’ve got to keep looking!’ Newt grabbed his hand and pulled him up the road. 

‘You’re too optimistic for your own good.’ Thomas smiled fondly.

‘Well someone’s got to be because you’re not exactly being a ray of sunshine.’ 

‘I’m trying.’ He explained. 

‘I know you are. Don’t you worry about a thing. We’ll figure it all out.’ 

‘I don’t deserve you.’

‘I know.’

‘I wanted to explain it.’ Thomas had relaxed into the conversation a little more, confident Newt wasn’t going to judge him. ‘I didn’t want to say anything in front of Gally and Minho. I wasn’t sure they were going to be as understanding.’ 

‘I’m sure they would have.’

‘I know that deep down- just- I don’t know. It’s been difficult.’ He admitted. 

‘Difficult how?’ 

‘Well- before college, in high school I’d never go out. There were people who wanted to go clubbing with me- girls who wanted to get with me, but- there was a constant pressure from my parents to not go out. They’d refuse- told me there was always something I could be doing. That going to parties wouldn’t help me succeed. I didn’t really learn how to be a teenager until I left home and my teenage years were over.’ He explained, Newt watching him intently. ‘I used to get picked on for not coming out. Y’know, the usual- spoilt sport, mommy’s boy. It was never serious- but it was enough to make me feel like no one really understood.’ 

‘That’s awful Tommy. I’m sorry.’ Newt looked incredibly sincere. ‘No person should ever have to bypass a huge part of being a teenager and growing up. It’s natural to go partying and stuff- all part of figuring yourself out. I wish people respected that more.’ 

‘So do I.’ Thomas admitted. ‘I love my parents- butI’m not their perfect son they always planned out. I tried to be the best I could be for them- but what they want me to be is near impossible. I realised that in college- started living for myself. I like to think I’m living out my teenage years now..but that’s a sad thought.’

‘It is- but, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. You’re surrounded by relaxed people, people who accept and love you. You’re figuring yourself out without any pressure, and you’re finally getting to flourish. The sooner we find you something that you love, the sooner you can be who you want to be.’ 

‘And I’ve got you.’

‘You’ve always got me.’

‘Think I would have been too embarrassed to know you in my teenage years though. I was a spotty bastard.’ He scoffed. 

‘Well I was being used as dodgeball practice so maybe we would have been picked on together.’

-

“Gally?” Minho poked his head round the door. Gally glanced up. 

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to the cafe in town. See if they have any jobs for Thomas. Then I might get a coffee, you wanna come?”

“Sure. Sounds fun.” Gally stood up, slipped his shoes on and grabbed his wallet. “Do you know if Thomas and Newt have had any luck?” He asked as they stepped outside and Minho locked the door behind him. 

“No actually. They haven’t texted me.” He shrugged. 

“They’re probably making out somewhere.” Gally scoffed, wandering down the stairs toward the door of their apartment building. 

“Are you kidding me? Thomas hasn’t got the balls to make a move.”

“Well it wouldn’t matter even if he did, Newt would still think he didn’t like him. He’s sweet but he’s the most oblivious person.”

“He really is. But I do hope it works out for them. They’ll be good for each other- more so than they already are.” 

“Yeah. I just hope Newt likes him back. I mean, no one knows. It’s not like we’ve asked.”

“Yeah but I mean- he probably does, right?” Minho frowned. “He seems to like Thomas a lot.”

“But Newt likes everyone a lot.” Gally sighed. “I hope he does like him back, or this could go really wrong. I don’t want Thomas to get hurt.”

“Neither do I.”

-

“Well that was a disappointment.” Gally sighed as he sat down, coffee and muffin in hand. 

“Not a total disappointment. We still got food.” Minho shrugged, taking a large bite out of his chocolate twist.

“Well if Thomas doesn’t start earning something, we might not be able to do this as frequently.”

“He’ll get a job, worry wart. We haven’t been looking for that long. The city’s big. We’ll find something.”

“You’re right, you’re right.” Gally nodded. “But enough about that. How are you?”

“I’m alright. Y’know, the usual. And you?”

“I’m fine.” He shrugged, picking at his muffin. 

“How’s work?” Minho asked. 

“Pretty boring. I mean- nothing particularly amazing ever happens at a game store, y’know?”

“True. You don’t want to find a job somewhere else if you find it so boring?” Gally shrugged lightly. 

“I mean- not really. I’m pretty happy with everything right now since I haven’t been there all that long. I think about a year there will be enough though, so I’ll probably leave then.” 

“And what will you do next?” 

“I’m not sure. Whatever arises I suppose.” 

“Didn’t take you as someone who was spontaneous.” Minho hummed absently. 

“Yeah well, y’know.” He shrugged. “What about you? Work ok for you?”

“Yeah. I don’t mind it.” Minho shrugged. “I’m pretty happy.”

“I mean- you must hear about a lot of drama working at a hairdressers, right?” 

“I mean- yeah. But most of the time it’s really petty. I’d rather do my work with headphones on. I work better in my own world.” He shrugged lightly. Gally smiled fondly. 

“I can tell. You give off that kind of vibe. Creative, but on your own accord.”

“Exactly!” Minho grinned. 

“You’d think that kind of person would be a little more introverted.” He noted with a shrug, sipping his coffee. 

“I suppose. But it’s different isn’t it? I want to work alone, and I want to party with girls.” 

“You really like girls, huh?” Gally scoffed slightly, glancing down at his half eaten muffin. 

“Well- most girls. Just so long as they like me.”

“I can’t imagine all of your girl antics go completely to plan though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well- you must have accidentally hit on someone’s girlfriend or something, gotten a punch in the face.”

“A couple times I suppose.” His friend nodded, sucking sugar off of his fingers. “There was this one time when I was flirting with this girl- and she was flirting back. She said she didn’t have a boyfriend- so how was I supposed to know the seven foot Viking that came up behind me was her man?”

“Ouch.” Gally winced at the thought. 

“Yeah. I had a frozen pea bag stuck to my face for a couple days.” He scoffed lightly. 

“It’ll work out though mate. You’ll get a good girl some day. They’ll treat you right.” He smiled softly. 

“I’d like that.” Minho nodded. 

“It’ll happen. You deserve that much, at least.” He murmured. 

“You think so?” He asked- suddenly seeming surprisingly vulnerable. 

“Of course I do! Min’, you’re a good guy. One of the best I’ve met. And I won’t let you be with anyone else who doesn’t treat you like you are. Not again. It was wrong of us to let you stay with Molly, when we could all see she was rotten from a mile away. We weren’t good friends, we didn’t do you right by that.”

“You did what you could. Doubt I would have listened anyway.” Minho sighed across his cappuccino, before taking a sip. “I was head over heels.”

“Yeah. Yeah you were.” Gally watched Minho carefully over the table, watching the small brow crease and the way he licked his lips. 

“But that’s in the past. And one day I will visit Molly in prison.” 

Gally scoffed.

“I doubt you’ll have to wait very long.” 

“Well what about you? I’ve never seen you have any interest in anyone- girl or boy. No parties, no dates, no dating apps.”

“Well- y’know. I wasn’t looking for love.”

“Wasn’t?” 

“It’s just a crush.” He shrugged at his plate. 

“Oh? Who’s the lucky girl? Or...guy?” 

“Well- he doesn’t know.” He glanced up at Minho’s expectant face. “I’m not telling you!”

“Wha- Why not? Aren’t we close enough for me to get that juicy gossip?” Minho demanded offendedly. 

“I haven’t told anyone. And I don’t plan too. It won’t go anywhere anyway.”

“How do you know that?”

“He’s straight, Min’.” 

“Oh.” Minho frowned. “Well- isn’t there anyone else out there who’s not straight?”

“The only lgbt people I know are Newt and Thomas and the thought of kissing either of them makes me want to vomit.”

“Why? They’re attractive enough.” He teased. Gally rolled his eyes. 

“Even if I did like either of them- they like each other. Besides- I don’t think I’m going to be over my crush any time soon.” He sighed slightly, stirring his coffee absently. 

“When did you realise you liked them?”

“Recently. Not long at all actually. Maybe two weeks ago?” He frowned. 

“Oh. How long does it usually take for you to get over them?” Minho asked, setting down his empty cup. 

“I’m not sure. It’s been a while since I’ve had any kind of attraction. My first grade girlfriend and I were together for two weeks though.”

“Two weeks? Are you kidding? That’s crazy!” His friend scoffed.

“I know right. She dumped me on our two week anniversary, after I’d made her a Lego plane.”

“That bitch.” 

“Yeah.” Gally hummed for a moment. “I think she’s married now.”

“Maybe one day you can invite her to your wedding too.” Minho shrugged. 

“Yeah. Maybe.” 

-

‘Newt.’ Gally appeared apprehensively in the doorway, Newt glancing up. 

He was baking some pancakes in the early hours of the morning- Exactly 3:45 if the clock was right. 

Newt hadn’t been able to sleep. He’d had Thomas’ conversation and predicament on his mind, and he was struggling to think of jobs Thomas might enjoy. 

He had no idea why Gally was awake though. 

‘Oh hey. What are you doing up?’ 

‘I’ve been thinking about a lot. Why are you up?’ 

‘I’ve been thinking about a lot.’ He shrugged. Gally pushed himself up onto the counter and watched as Newt decanted pancakes onto two plates. ‘I hope you’re hungry.’ He grinned. 

‘Always for mama Newt’s cooking.’ Gally smiled back, taking one of the plates. 

‘So what’s eating you? Do you want to talk about it?’ Newt asked. 

‘I do. Kind of. I don’t know- I think I do. I know you won’t tell anyone, I just worry that I’m rushing into things. Or that I don’t feel how I think I feel.’

‘Then I’ll take out four o’clock conversation with a pinch of salt.’ Newt shrugged lightly, sitting next to him. 

‘Ok.’ Gally nodded, swallowing down a couple pancakes in an attempt at procrastination. ‘It’s just that- for the first time in years- I have a crush.’ He explained. Newt just nodded and smiled encouragingly. 

‘What’s the problem with that?’

‘The problem is- I haven’t had a crush since the first year of high school, so I have no idea what I’m doing. I don’t even know where to start with.’

‘Have you thought about telling them how you feel?’ Newt asked. 

‘Yeah but there would be no point. He’s straight- and it might badly mess up our friendship.’ Gally sighed sadly. 

‘But it might give you some closure.’

‘I won’t get any closure if he decides I’m a weirdo that he never wants to see again.’

‘Well I think that may be a slight over-exaggeration. I mean- most people aren’t like that anymore. As long as you’re mature and understanding- I’m sure he will be too.’

‘I know that, logically. It’s just difficult- I’m still scared.’

‘You don’t have too if you feel you don’t need too.’ 

‘I want too. Just so he knows.’ Gally admitted sadly. 

‘Ok.’

‘Can- could I practice on you? Like- saying who it is. Out loud. Or- as out loud as sign language is.’

‘Course you can.’ Newt smiled warmly. ‘I won’t judge.’

‘Ok.’ Gally took a deep breath, and tried to control his shaking hands. He had no idea why he was so nervous. ‘I like..’ he cracked his knuckles and tried to focus on Newt’s encouraging smile. 

‘I like Minho.’ 

Newt blinked. 

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah.’ Gally sucked his head down to his feet. 

‘Hey, no it’s ok!’ Newt tried to back peddle. ‘I’m sorry- I was just surprised. There’s nothing wrong with that. He’s a good, funny, attractive guy. Of course you fell for him.’

‘It’s just so difficult. I know it’s going to really hurt when he doesn’t come home some nights.’

Newts eyes filled with sympathy. 

‘I hadn’t even thought of that.’

‘Yeah.’ He nodded sadly. 

‘You should talk to him Gally. Just so he knows. So he spares your feelings.’

‘I don’t want to make him feel bad though, Newt. I don’t want him to hook up with girls and feel bad about it because of me in the back of his mind. He’s been though enough with Molly, he doesn’t need that too.’ 

Newt sighed and frowned deeply. 

‘But it’s not fair on you.’

‘I brought this on myself. I fell for him, it’s not his fault.’

‘It’s not your fault either- you can’t control that.’ Newt protested.

‘Well..what do I do?’ 

‘Maybe talk to him. Tell him you don’t want him to feel bad- that it’s not his fault but that you thought he needed to know.’ Newt decided. Gally nodded slowly.

‘Ok.’ He agreed, and relaxed slightly. He sighed. 

Falling for Minho, of all people, was not ideal. He didn’t even know how it had happened- he’d just realised it after they’d watched some TV together- when Newt and Thomas were at bowling. 

‘How are you and Thomas?’ He asked, preferring to talk about something other than his failing love life. 

‘What do you mean?’ 

Oh shit. Backtrack. 

‘I just mean- with, looking for jobs.’

‘Oh. I mean- it could’ve gone better.’ Gally raised an eyebrow. ‘Yeah we didn’t find anything.’

‘Damn.’ He sighed. ‘How is Thomas?’

‘I don’t know, why don’t you ask him.’

‘Sorry.’ Newt elbowed him with a smile. 

‘I’m just teasing. He seems alright. I suppose.’ He shrugged a bit. 

‘Not..weird?’

‘Weird?’

‘Nervous?’

‘No. Why?’

‘Just wondering.’ Gally shrugged a little. At least Thomas was getting better in the nerves department. ‘What do you think of him?’ Gally could tell Newt thought these questions were weird, but he was just trying to get some answers for Thomas. 

‘I think he’s wonderful. One of my best friends. Like you and Minho.’

Ok. Not really what he’d been hoping for. 

‘Right.’ He nodded. ‘But- anyway, what about you? How’s the love game going for you?’ Newt scrunched up his nose. 

‘I don’t know. Not very well.’

‘How come?’

‘There was this boy who used to come into my work, he learnt sign language for me and everything. He was really cute. But the other day, he came in and started having a go at me. He said he’d seen me out with another guy, that I was leading him on. The usual spiel. So my manager walked him out. I’m kinda bummed cuz he was really pretty, but I’m glad I didn’t end up with him. He seemed crazy.’ 

‘Oh.’ Gally lit up. Thomas would love to hear this. ‘Who was the other guy?’

‘He said he saw us in a cafe- so It was probably Thomas.’ 

‘Oh.’ He’d love to hear that more.

‘Yeah. But- I mean there goes the only person that likes me.’ Newt laughed. 

‘You don’t know that for sure.’

‘No- I guess I don’t. But I’m a pretty observant person, I think I’d know if someone liked me.’ 

Gally snorted. 

‘What?’ Newt asked. 

‘No offence Newt, but you are the most oblivious person I’ve ever met.’

‘Wha- I’m not that oblivious!’

‘Trust me mate, you are.’

‘Well-‘ Newt frowned. ‘You don’t get an opinion on my love life until you sort out yours.’

‘Alright. Fair. That’s fair. I’ll get on it.’


	14. Fourteen

Minho listened absently to whatever Gally was rambling about as the three of them walked back up to their apartment. Thomas was still out job searching, but he, Gally and Newt has decided to go home after shopping for groceries. 

Newt was nodding along to whatever Gally was rapidly signing, and Minho got to the top of the stairs first, turning. He almost crashed into someone and stumbled- close to tumbling back down the stairs. 

“Shit!” He yelped, gaining his balance as a pair of hands reached out and pulled him back onto the top step. 

“I’m so sorry!” Minho blinked in the sight before him, now that the threat of imminent death was over. 

And he thought Molly was beautiful. 

This girl had long, wavy dark hair, and wide piercing eyes. Her eyes looked like the colours of diamonds, sharp enough to cut, but not sharp with malice. She had a huge smile on her face, laughing about the situation. 

“Hello.” He said softly. 

“Hello. I’m sorry I almost knocked you down the stairs.” She laughed softly. 

“Newt!”

Minho tore his eyes away from the beautiful girl to see another one besides her, grinning at Newt. 

She had shorter, bobbed hair, and chocolate eyes which screamed playfulness. Her skin was darker and she was smaller than her friend- less lanky. 

“Newt!” The girl that caught Minho’s eye gasped, it’s so nice to see you!” She smiled. 

‘It’s good to see you too.’ Newt beamed back. ‘Minho, Gally, these are the girls that live above us- the ones I was telling you about. That’s Brenda,’ he gestured to the shorter girl, ‘and Teresa.’

Teresa. What a beautiful name. 

“The pleasures all mine.” Minho said softly. Teresa glanced down for a moment giggling. 

“Is it? I’ve heard all about how noisy you think we are.”

“Well- If I’d known you were living up there, I would’ve made an exception.” He shrugged. Teresa’s face heated up, and Minho chose to ignore Brenda’s nose scrunching up in disgust. 

“Well, if I’d known you were living down here, I would’ve made the trip down sooner.”

“It’s a shame you didn’t.” 

“Alright, break it up lovebirds. We have somewhere to be.” Brenda laughed softly, putting a hand on Teresa’s elbow. 

“There’s no rush Bren’. We should at least try and get to know our neighbours.” 

“You could come round.” Minho suggested hurriedly. “Whenever you’re free- if you’d like. We’d love to have you, right boys?” He turned to glance at his friend. 

Newt was hugging Gally’s arm, rubbing it with his thumb and looking quite sad. But when Minho addressed him, he perked up and nodded. 

“Gally?” Minho pressed. His friend glanced up, and made eye contact for a second before his eyes flutter away. He nodded. 

“Yeah.” 

“Sorry about them.” Minho turned back to the girls. “Gally’s shy.”

“That’s alright.” Brenda smiled. “Are there only three of you living there? I thought it was a four bedroom?”

“It is. Our other roommate, Thomas. He’s out right now, but he should be back soon. I’m sure he’ll be around when or if you decide to visit.”

“We’d love to.” Teresa grinned. “When are you free?”

“Oh, I mean whenever really. Just pop round whenever you want, there’s almost always someone in.”

“Alright.” Teresa smiled widely. 

“Yeah, thanks boys. But T’, we really have to go now.” Brenda started tugging lightly on her friends arm. 

Teresa was staring at Minho though, and he found himself staring back. 

“But- um- what if there isn’t anyone in? We should- we should exchange numbers!” She suggested hurriedly. Brenda sighed. 

“You have no shame.” She muttered. 

Teresa just ignored her and fumbled around in her pocket. She whipped out a receipt and what looked like a pencil from IKEA. She scribbled down her number and gave it to Minho with a huge smile. Minho quickly pocketed it with a larger grin. 

“Can we go now?” Brenda sighed. 

“Yeah. Yeah” Teresa shot Minho a last smile, before being dragged down the stairs by her friend, who called out a rushed farewell. 

“Wow. She sure was something, huh?” Minho grinned at Newt and Gally. 

‘Yeah. Sure is.’ Newt nodded, before gently leading Gally past Minho and opening their door. Gally had his head down, and Minho frowned slightly, wondering why he’d gone so quiet so quickly. 

‘You should’ve told me they were so beautiful Newt.’ Minho continued to ramble, chalking their odd behaviour up to awkwardness or something. 

‘Slipped my mind. I don’t tend to notice the beauty of women.’ Newt explained absently, as the three of them huddled into their hall. 

Gally shrugged off his coat, hanging it on the hook and disappearing into his room hurriedly. 

Newt sighed as he watched his friend go, frown noticeable between his eyebrows. 

‘What’s up with him?’ Minho asked, catching Newt’s attention. 

‘Just stressed I suppose. He was telling me that his job is getting to him a little.’

‘Really? He didn’t seem to have an issue with it the other week.’ Minho. Newt just shrugged. 

‘Circumstances change.’ He turned. ‘I’m going to go have a shower.’ And he disappeared too. 

Minho sighed slightly, put off by his friends odd behaviour, but he decided he was probably talking to the wrong people: Gally, who seemed to not be capable of romantic attraction, and Newt, who liked men. So he got out his phone. 

**[Thomas: dude, I just met our neighbours from upstairs]** Thomas replied almost immediately. 

**[Minho: oh yeah, what were they like?]**

**[Thomas: p fit. They’re called Teresa and Brenda. I got Teresa’s number]**

**[Minho: course you did]**

**[Thomas: tbf I didn’t ask for it. She just gave it to me]**

**[Minho: lucky bastard]**

**[Thomas: u kno it. Gally and Newt are being rlly weird tho :/]**

-

‘You don’t have to talk about it.’ Newt broke the ice first. They’d been sat together, silently for about twenty minutes, and the silence was- ironically enough- killing him. 

‘I don’t know what you want me to say.’

‘I just thought you might want to rant.’ He shrugged. Gally just sighed and glanced at his lap. 

Newt’s phone lit up on his own lap, and he quickly typed out a reply. 

**[Newt: I’m about ten minutes away. How is he]**

**[Tommy: quiet. I don’t think he wants to talk about it]**

‘I just don’t understand how he’s so oblivious.’ Gally announced out of the blue, and Newt immediately turned off his phone to give his friend his full attention. 

‘What do you mean?’ 

‘I don’t know.’ He sighed defeatedly. ‘I want to be angry at him for flirting with her. But that’s not fair. He doesn’t know. But I want him to know. But I don’t want to tell him.’

‘Things aren’t going to be normal until this is resolved Gally.’ Newt replied gently. ‘Your friendship is weird at the moment, and it’s going to be until you can talk things out and accept that he’ll be with girls.’

‘Things would be so much easier if I didn’t like him.’ Was all he got in return.

‘Probably. But you do, and there’s no point in avoiding it. Minho likes women, and he’s going to flirt with them- constantly. Because that’s what he does. He hasn’t changed, and you can’t live your life wallowing for hours every time he does, because you’d be wallowing constantly. You have to confront this and accept this. It’s the only way you can move on.’

‘I just- I want to tell him. I know he won’t be weird about it, but- there’s a small part that worries he will. When we tried to tell him Molly was a dick, he got so defensive. I don’t want him to get like that again.’ 

Newt frowned. 

‘But why would he? He has absolutely no reason to be defensive. You’ve done nothing wrong, and he knows that. He’ll understand, I promise.’ 

‘I know that- I suppose.’ Gally rubbed the back of his neck. ‘You’re speaking sense, I know you are. I just can’t help a small, nagging part of me that’s telling me to keep it to myself until it goes away. I mean- what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.’

‘Why are you assuming it’ll hurt him?’

‘I’m not sure it will.’ His friend admitted. ‘But- maybe I will.’

‘You do realise the only things you’re giving me at the moment are ‘what’s’ and ‘if’s’, don’t you?’ Newt tried to reason. He knew it would be difficult to convince Gally, but not this difficult. ‘You won’t know anything for certain unless you do it for real.’

‘The thing is- I know that if I keep it to myself, I can imagine what his rejection will look like, but I don’t have to actually put up with the embarrassment and hurt of actually going through it.’ 

Newt stoped. 

He hadn’t thought of that. 

‘That’s true. But..if you were to tell him that the start of the conversation that you don’t need him to reject you, because you know he doesn’t like you, then it’ll be ok, right?’

‘Maybe.’ Gally shrugged noncommittally. 

‘It should be ok if you explain that you don’t want him to say anything, right? Like- just tell him that he doesn’t have to say anything to save yourself the embarrassment.’

‘It’s Minho though. He has an opinion on everything.’ 

‘I’m not sure you’re giving him enough credit. Minho is kind, he’s considerate. He’ll be good if you decide to talk to him about it.’ 

Gally sighed and nodded. 

‘You’re right. You’re right.’ He stood up and opened the window, hanging his head out it for a moment and running his hand over his face. Newt watched him, glad for some air in the stuffy room. 

‘I need to pull it together.’ He turned and leant against the window. ‘This isn’t like me.’

‘It’s ok. Crushes change us.’ Newt smiled a little. 

‘How would you know?’ His friend raised an eyebrow. 

‘I’ve gone through life, getting crushes funnily enough. I am human.’ He scoffed. 

‘Yeah. I suppose. And what about now?’

‘Do we really need to focus on my failed love life right now? I thought we were talking about yours?’ Newt crossed his legs underneath him. 

‘Honestly, I’d rather talk about anything else.’ Gally scoffed quietly. 

‘Alright.’ He smiled a little. ‘Well my love life isn’t going famously well. My mate at work’s trying to convince me to join a dating app.’

Gally scrunched up his nose. 

‘And are you going too?’

‘Probably not. People get turned off when they find out about the whole deaf thing.’ He joked. 

Gally nodded a little. 

‘Not everyone though. There are people out there who don’t mind.’ 

‘There are. And they’re good people.’ He smiled. 

‘Why don’t you just date someone you already know?’ 

‘It’s complicated. You date people you’re close too, you run the risk of losing a boyfriend and a best friend.’ 

‘But that’s all ‘what’s’ and ‘if’s’.’ Gally smirked, pleased that he’d managed to bring up what Newt had told him earlier. 

Newt rolled his eyes fondly. 

‘If you were to date anyone in your life, right now, who would it be?’ Gally asked. Newt hummed in thought for a moment. 

‘Probably-‘ 

“What’s going on?” Thomas demanded as he burst in the door. 

‘Tommy! For Christ’s sake, don’t scare me like that.’ Newt put a hand on his heart. 

‘Sorry. Just- it seemed urgent.’ Thomas sat down next to Newt on the floor, crossing his legs too. 

‘Well, it’s not. We’ve already decided what Gally’s going to do.’ Newt explained. 

‘Oh yeah? What?’ 

‘I’m going to tell Minho how I feel.’ Gally announced. 

‘What?’ Thomas seemed taken aback. ‘Really? Why?’ 

‘You seem surprised.’ Newt acknowledged with a slight frown. 

‘I am a bit. It’s just- not what I would do.’

‘Well..what would you do?’ Gally asked. Newt glanced between the two. 

‘Well,’ Thomas frowned slightly. ‘I know that you want him to understand why you’re hurting- but what’s really the point of him knowing. You know it won’t lead anywhere, and it might make your friendship a bit awkward.’ 

‘I’m sure it wouldn’t.’ Newt argued immediately, quick to defend Minho. ‘Minho is a good person.’ 

‘And I’m not saying he isn’t. But- if a girl told you that she really liked you, how would you feel?’ Thomas asked. Newt frowned. ‘I mean, you’re a lovely person, and I have no doubts that you’d let her down as gently as possible, but you’re always going to feel bad for not liking her, and you’re always going to feel guilty when you continue your own dating life.’ 

‘I mean..I guess.’ Newt admitted. 

‘I just don’t think telling him is going to help anything. I think you’ve got to go out and find someone who is compatible with you.’ Thomas turned back to Gally, who was looking very concentrated and very conflicted. 

‘You really think so?’ Newt questioned him again. He was eager to make sure that whatever suggestion they gave Gally, was a well thought out and debated one. ‘Isn’t that just like filling the gap?’

‘Yeah.’ Thomas nodded. ‘That’s not a bad thing though, right?’ 

‘Well it could be. Whoever Gally finds is never going to be able to fill that gap completely, and then he’s just got some poor guy who’s not Minho, being expected to be Minho. It’s basically a rebound, and it never ends well for the person who got their heart broken, or the rebound. It’s not fair.’

‘I never said it had to be serious.’ Thomas bounced back. 

‘So you’re suggesting that Gally get over his crush by going out and having sex with random people?’ Newt asked. 

‘Yeah.’

‘Because that’s always worked well hasn’t it?’ 

‘You both make good points.’ Gally slowly made his way back into the conversation.‘Im not sure I should tell Minho, but I don’t want to fill the gap with random people either.’

‘I only suggested it because I didn’t think you’d want to sit around moping all day with your heart broken.’ 

‘I’m not exactly the kind of person that fills the hole in their soul with sex, though.’ Gally argued. 

‘No. No you’re not.’ Thomas sighed. ‘I’m thinking too much with my own head.’ He ran a hand over his face. ‘No offence mate, but it’s difficult to get in your head when I know approximately three things about you.’ 

‘And that’s all you’ll ever know.’ 

‘Well what do we do then?’ Newt huffed. ‘Because Minho seemed to be really interested in Teresa today, and I don’t want to see you get hurt Gally.’ 

‘I’m not sure there’s any way for me to just..get over it. I think it’s just something I’ve got to stick out until it goes away.’

‘But we don’t know when that’ll be. That could be..six girlfriends later or something.’ Thomas theorised. 

‘Thank you, mate, for your words of hope and encouragement.’ Gally grumbled. 

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m with Newt, we just don’t want to see you upset.’

‘I know. But I don’t see any other option. I can’t just fill the hole like I want too.’ Gally sighed. 

‘But you just said you want too? Which means you should come partying with me and we’ll get you a boyfriend.’ 

‘And He won’t be Minho, and you’ll be disappointed and you’ll hurt him and yourself.’ Newt shot back. ‘I’m telling you, it’s not a good idea.’

‘Well I don’t see you coming up with anything better.’ Thomas pouted childishly. 

‘I suggested telling him!’

‘What would that do?’ 

‘Give Gally some closure.’

‘Yeah and make their friendship and the fact they live together incredibly awkward for the rest of time.’ 

‘Guys.’ Gally cut in between the two, and Newt ducked his head ashamedly. 

‘Sorry. I just want you to be happy.’ He sighed, slumping against the bed. 

‘Maybe- Maybe we should just leave Gally to think about it?’ Thomas asked. 

‘Oh god please don’t. I’m not sure I’ll be able to come to a decision without your bickering.’

‘Yeah because our bickering’s got us places so far hasn’t it?’ Thomas huffed. 

‘It’s good that there’s two sides of the argument though.’ He countered. Newt nodded reluctantly in agreement. 

‘I guess.’ Thomas agreed. 

‘Maybe I’ll sleep on it.’ Gally decided. 

‘That’s a good plan.’ Newt encouraged. Thomas nodded in agreement. 

‘Ok.’ 

Newt stood up. ‘Right. I’m actually going to go have a shower now.’ He smiled, putting a hand on Thomas’ shoulder as he walked past. ‘Tell me how job searching went when I get out, yeah?’

‘Will do.’ Thomas nodded. 

Newt smiled and wandered off to the bathroom. 

-

Thomas slumped against Gally’s bed with a hefty sigh.

“We’re such dumbass’s.” Gally grumbled. 

“Yeah. We are. How did we both manage to fall for our roommates?” Thomas scoffed dryly. 

“I dunno. At least it’s not the same one.”

“That is true.” Thomas hummed. 

“Well you’re ruining your own chances.” Gally accused. The brunette frowned. 

“What? How?” 

“Well, I asked Newt if he had to date anyone already in his life, who would it be. He didn’t even hesitate, he had an answer. Then you bust in and scared him.” 

Thomas groaned loudly. 

“Fuck.”

“I guess you’ve just got to hold onto the fact that cute work guy’s out of the picture.”

“Yeah. I guess.” He grumbled sulkily. 

“Are you going to do your big, romantic gesture yet, or not?” 

“I don’t know. I just- I don’t know. I want to wait until there’s a gap in the drama, but that seems to never happen.” 

“Sorry.” Gally sighed. 

“It’s not your fault.” He shook his head. “It’ll be alright. We’ll figure this out.”

“Will we?” Gally raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. It’s not a big deal. Only a couple of crushes.”

“Crushes on our roommates that we have at least a year lease with.”

“Don’t make this more depressing than it already is.” Thomas huffed. 

“I don’t get why you don’t just ask Newt. He’s all over you!”

“He is not all over me.”

“He was literally sat on your lap yesterday.”

“Because there’s not enough space on the couch, you know that.”

“Thomas- why are you trying to make excuses? It’s like you don’t want him to like you.” Gally frowned. Thomas ran a hand over his face and sighed. 

“I just- I don’t want to be let down. I don’t want to fill my head with all these incidents that mean he could have a crush on me, ask him out and get rejected. It’ll hurt more.” 

“Well it wont, because that won’t happen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes I do.” Gally said assuredly. 

“How? Has Newt told you he likes me? Has he admitted it?” 

“...no.” Gally admitted. 

“Then you don’t know.” Thomas shrugged. 

His friend sighed defeatedly. 

“I might not know for sure, but I can see it. As an unbiased observer, I’m about ninety-seven percent sure he likes you. And I don’t think you should sit around waiting, trying to find excuses every time you two do something romantic. You have to go for it man. Because at some point, another cute guy from work is going to come along, and he won’t be a dick.” 

“You’re right. I know you’re tight.” Thomas sighed. 

“Just..sleep on it. Yeah?” Gally smiled encouragingly. 

“Yeah. I will.” 


	15. Fifteen

“Alright boys, we’re going partying.” Minho announced as he bust through the door. 

Gally glanced up. 

“What?” 

“We’re going partying. The lovely Teresa and Brenda have invited us.” Their friend grinned widely. Gally pulled a face at Thomas, who shrugged. 

“I’ll go.”

“I’m not sure if I want too.” Gally admitted. Minho jumped over the back of the couch and onto it next to him, slapping his knee. 

“Don’t be a party pooper, it’ll be good fun!”

“We could find you someone to flirt with.” Thomas shrugged softly. “Min’s right, maybe you just need to loosen up a bit.” 

“Do I have to?” Gally groaned. 

“You don’t have too, but you should think about it before saying no for sure.” Minho shrugged. “You coming Thomas?”

“Sure.” Gally’s friend shrugged. 

“I’m gonna guess the chances of a one night stand are low?”

“Well,” Thomas frowned. “Probably. Unless Newt’s coming, or unless I get stupidly drunk.”

“You think Newt’ll come?” Minho asked. Their friend was on the way home from work.

“Probably not. He’s always tired after work, and it’s got to be pretty difficult for him to actually talk to people in the club. I mean, what if we lost him?” Thomas asked worriedly. 

“You’d be the only one worried about that mate. Newt can look after himself.” Minho scoffed. 

“I know that. It doesn’t mean I can’t try and keep him safe.” Thomas shrugged. 

“I’m going to go.” Gally announced out of nowhere, clearly shocking both of his roommates.

“Really?” Minho’s eyes widened. 

“Yeah. It’ll be fun.” He shrugged. Gally was out of his comfort zone by miles, but he knew he could do this, and he knew it would be ok. This would help him get over Minho. 

“Nice!” Thomas grinned. 

Newt pushed open the door and ran a hand over his face. Minho immediately sprung up excitably. 

‘Newt!’ He grinned. Newt glanced up- he looked tired and worn out. 

‘Yeah?’

‘We’ve all been invited to a party. You want to come?’He asked eagerly. 

‘No thanks guys. I’ve got a banging headache- I think I’m just gonna go to bed.’ Thomas frowned immediately. 

‘Are you ok?’ 

‘Yeah. It’s just a headache. It’ll be gone by the morning.’ He reassured. 

‘Aww, but Newtttt’ Minho whined. 

‘Minho don’t push. Newt can stay at home if he wants.’ Thomas scolded. 

‘Fine.’ He huffed. 

‘I hope you feel better soon Newt.’ Gally smiled softly, and his friend smiled back. 

‘Thank you. I hope you guys have fun tonight.’ 

‘Oh we will.’ Minho grinned, clearly with a certain someone on his mind. Gally rolled his eyes. 

“We should get going.”

“What? Now? I haven’t even done my hair yet!” His roommate cried. 

“Then get on with it.”

-

“Ok I’m ready!” Minho called. 

“Finally.” Thomas rolled his eyes. He and Gally had been waiting on the couch for about an hour. Their friend glided in, hair immaculate and teeth blinding. 

“You look like you’re about to be on a shampoo commercial.” Gally scrunched up his nose. 

“That’s good. I’m photogenic enough to be on TV, let’s go.” He hustled the two men off of the couch and towards the door. 

“Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts when you’ve been dancing for an hour.” Thomas scoffed. 

“Well I’m hoping Teresa likes that look.” 

“What? Melting?” Gally asked. 

“Shut up!” He got a punch in the arm for that one. 

“Y’know Thomas,” He closed the door behind him. “If it doesn’t work out with Newt, Brenda’s pretty fit.” 

Thomas just rolled his eyes. 

-

Thomas found Gally about an hour into the party. They’d all been together for the first half an hour, before Minho got dragged off by who Thomas could only assume was the famous Teresa, and he’d been grabbed by a very attractive girl who he’d sat and chatted to for half an hour. 

He felt bad about leaving Gally, and had looked most places for him, but couldn’t seem to find him anywhere. 

Eventually though, the girl had been taken off by her friends, and Thomas went on the search for his own, finding Gally sat in the corner with a beer. 

“Hey Buddy.” He slid in next to him. Gally did not look impressed. 

“Finally got bored of talking to the model, huh?”

“Hey, I looked everywhere for you.” He defended.

“Well you didn’t look very hard, I’ve been here the whole time.” Thomas could tell Gally wasn’t really annoyed, so he changed the subject. 

“You seen Minho?”

“No. Last time I saw him he was off with Teresa. They were dancing.”

“How’re you doing?” Thomas put a comforting hand on his upper arm, and his friend just sighed. 

“I’m just angry at myself because I can’t seem to get over him. I dunno. I feel stupid.” He shrugged a bit. 

“You can’t control when and who you like Gally. You shouldn’t try to force anything.” Thomas frowned. “It’s ok to like him.”

“But it hurts.” 

He sighed. 

“Yeah. That’s the shitty part of love.”

“You’d know, wouldn’t you?” Gally raised an eyebrow, and Thomas rolled his eyes slightly. 

“Yeah yeah I know, my love life is a mess.” 

“Look, all I’m saying is it’s frustrating. You guys are all over each other but neither of you are making a move.”

“I’ve just got a lot on my plate. I want to try and find a job first. Relationships are a big commitment.” He argued. Gally nodded in thought. 

“Well, yeah.” He shrugged. “Have you had any luck in the job department.”

“I’m going for a couple interviews this week, but nothings come up that I’m one-hundred percent in on.”

“Yeah.” Gally hummed in thought. “I suppose it’s difficult to find something like that if you don’t know what it is that you want to do.”

“That’s the tricky part.” He laughed softly. Gally glanced up from his drink, eyebrows raising. Thomas followed his gaze up to a beautiful woman. She had shorter, dark hair, with darker eyes and smooth skin. She was small and smiley, seemingly flustered from dancing. 

“Hey!” She grinned at Gally. 

“Oh. Hey Brenda.” Thomas’ roommate gestured for her to sit, which she did. “Thomas, this is Brenda. Teresa’s friend.” 

“Of course. I’ve heard so much about you.” Thomas smiled warmly, shaking her hand. 

“And you. You were the one unknown roommate.” She grinned, still seemingly trying to catch her breath. “I thought you’d be good looking like all your friends, but I wasn’t expecting anything like this.” She smiled. Thomas was rather taken aback- but she was a beautiful girl. Besides, what did a little bit of flirting do? 

“Rude.” Gally huffed. 

“Sorry Gally.” Brenda laughed softly. “You are all very attractive. How did you all end up in the same apartment?”

“Just all saw the add at the right time I suppose.” Thomas shrugged lightly. “And you?”

“Tess and I were friends from college, so we decided to get a place together. Although I might have to move out if she and Minho are going to be banging all the time.” She scrunched up her nose in disgusting. “It was so sickly sweet to watch them flirt.”

“Tell me about it.” Gally groaned. “I wanted to throw up.”

“I was about too.” She scoffed. “But Tess does that a lot.” Gally and Thomas exchanged a look. 

“She does?” Thomas asked cautiously. He had made a promise to Minho. He would be the first one in line to tell his friend if his new crush was a player. 

“Yeah. Can’t say I’ve ever seen her this involved with a guy before. Usually doesn’t give a boy five minutes with her.” She laughed softly. 

“Oh?” Thomas asked. 

“Seems to have taken a real liking to Minho. Lucky for you, looks like we’ll be seeing more of each other.”

“Yes, I suppose it does.” Thomas hummed. “Can’t say I’m complaining.” 

“So who are you? I know about your roommates. Gally’s shy and bitter,” Gally made a face of disgust, which slowly morphed into a begrudging acceptance. “Newt’s the happy, mom friend, and Minho’s the lady killer. So who are you?”

“The impulsive one.”

“The big old worry wart is what you are.” Gally butted in. 

“I am not!” Thomas huffed, outraged. 

“Yes you are. If I had a dollar for every time you worried about Newt, I’d have a yacht in a hour.”

“Oh so he’s the mom friend?” Brenda giggled. 

“Not exactly the mom friend. He’s just trying really hard to look after someone who doesn’t need looking after.” He teased. 

“It’s not a crime to give a shit.” Thomas grumbled. Whilst he’d never let it on, he did worry, almost all the time, that he loved Newt too much- that he was over bearing. 

“Of course not. I think it’s sweet.” Brenda smiled, squeezing his bicep. 

“So does Newt, so it’s fine.” Gally shrugged. 

“Speaking of, where is Newt?” Brenda frowned. 

“He was feeling kinda sick so he didn’t come.” Thomas explained. 

“Oh no. Well send him by best wishes.”

“I will.” He nodded. 

“Thank you.” Brenda squeezed his arm again. Thomas glanced down at her hand, then met her eye. She smiled warmly and squeezed again. 

“Have you seen Teresa and Minho?” Gally asked. Brenda tore her gaze away from Thomas’ and glanced at Minho. 

“I saw them dancing earlier, but no. Not really.” She shrugged. Thomas glanced out onto the dance floor, scanning around to see if he could find his friend. Instead, his eyes got drawn to the side of the room, where he sighed deeply. 

Minho and Teresa were making out against the wall. He glanced at Gally, and watched him notice, looking down at the ground and nodding. 

“It’s ok. He’s happy.” He said softly, already knowing that Thomas was going to ask him if he was ok. 

“What’s going on?” Brenda frowned. 

“Don’t worry. It’s not important.” Thomas shrugged her off, and so Brenda did too. 

“Ok.” She trailed her hand down to Thomas’, and Gally glanced up to watch in surprise. “So, Thomas. Have you got a girlfriend?” 

“Can’t say I do, no.” He answered truthfully.

“And you still can’t keep it in your pants.” Gally scoffed. Brenda frowned. 

“Huh?”

“Thomas has the biggest crush I’ve ever seen.” His roommate laughed softly, and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. 

“Oh. Really. Who on?” 

“Newt.” Thomas grumbled. 

“I didn’t realise you were gay.” She said softly. 

“I’m not, I’m bi.” He corrected. 

“And a coward.” Gally teased. 

“I am not!” 

-

Newt wasn’t sure why he woke up, but he knew his headache was gone. Rolling over in bed, he squinted at the blaring light from his phone when he picked it up. 1:36. The others would be back soon- if they weren’t back already. 

He turned back over, closing his eyes. Newt yawned. 

It had been a stressful day. His co-worker had been out, there’d been a couple rude customers who thought they ought to know why the hell there was a deaf person allowed to work, and Newt had stocked an entire product in a wrong aisle. He was so tired, and he had been all day. 

He hoped the others were having fun. He would’ve liked to come, just because he wasn’t a big fan of missing out, especially because all of his roommates were going, but he’d been practically dead on his feet. 

Besides, he knew that there would be plenty of other opportunity’s to go partying. 

Newt curled up tightly into a ball like he usually did, trying to relax enough to sleep. He spent a few minutes trying, but he couldn’t get comfortable. 

Something was nagging at Newt, and he had no idea what it was. 

He sat up with a deep huff, trying to figure out if he’d forgotten anything, and if so, what. 

He’d remembered to close the windows. He’d remembered to turn off the lights. He’d remembered to turn off the oven. 

So why did he feel so on edge? 

After a while, Newt shrugged it off as something completely irrelevant and stupid. He turned over, curled up and closed his eyes once more. 

Newt lay there for a while, struggling to sleep. He rolled over and stared at his bedside table for a while, wondering wether he should text Thomas or one of the others. But he didn’t want to disturb them, whatever they were doing. 

He picked up his phone, scrolling through all three of his friends posts and stories about their nights. Teresa and Minho hadn’t been very active in a while. He supposed that meant things had gone well. Gally seemed to be on his phone a lot, in various photos with drinks and a frown. 

Thomas’ pictures were almost all with Brenda, who was practically hanging off his arm. It was obvious to Newt that Brenda had some kind of feelings towards Thomas, because- 

Ok something was really wrong. 

Newt sat upright again, setting his phone down and contemplating doing a check. 

He knew it would make him feel better, more secure. 

So he swung his feet over the bed and went to have a look. He pried open his bedroom door, into the dark hall, leading to the kitchen. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Newt slowly made his way down the corridor, heart thundering. 

He made his way into the kitchen, frowning deeply and crouching behind the counter, glancing up over it. 

His eyes widened. 

Oh. 

That would be why he was so scared. 

-

“So, you and Newt, huh?” Brenda asked. She and Thomas has been left alone for a while, Gally having gone to the toilet. 

“Yeah.” Thomas shrugged. “I mean kind of. I haven’t really worked up the courage to ask him out yet, and I’m not even sure he likes me.”

“Why wouldn’t he? You’re so attractive.” She said sweetly. 

“Thank you.” He smiled. “I mean, the others all say he likes me, that it’s obvious, but Newt hasn’t ever admitted it so I’m not so sure.” He explained. 

“Well..you know one way you could find out, right?” She asked.

“How?”

“You could always make him jealous.” Thomas frowned. 

“How would I do that?” 

“I dunno.” She shrugged. “You kiss me, I put it on my Instagram. He’s bound to see.” 

“I dunno.” Thomas frowned. “Newt’s not the kind of person to be bitter like that. Even if he was jealous he’d never show it. He’d pretend to be really happy for me.”

Brenda frowned. 

“Really?”

“Yeah. He’s sweet like that.” Thomas smiled. Brenda pouted slightly. 

“But you don’t know for sure that it wouldn’t work, right?” 

“Well..no..I suppose not. He just doesn’t seem like the type. And I know Newt really well. I mean- He might not even see it. He only checks social media like, once a week.”

“But it could work.” Was her only answer. 

“But the chances are slim.” He rebutted. “Besides,making people jealous isn’t the way to go about it. I’ll just ask him.” 

Brenda pouted slightly. 

“I guess.” She admitted. “Not to be rude, but- do you think it’ll be difficult? Being in a relationship with a deaf person?” 

“Well,” Thomas frowned slightly. “I don’t think so. I mean- I know sign language. But I suppose it’ll make things a little trickier.”

“And you don’t mind?”

“No.” He admitted. “Newt’s just sweet, and cute. And I like him a lot. Him being deaf has nothing to do with it.” 

“It hasn’t crossed your mind at all?” She frowned, slightly skeptically. 

“Well, of course it has. But it was more an issue at the beginning of our friendship, when I didn’t know sign language. It’s different now.” 

“I suppose so.” She nodded. “How long did it take you to learn?”

“A while. Longer than it should have.”

“Why did it take you so long?” She asked, stirring her drink idly. 

“Minho was the only one who knew sign language, and he was never around.” He rolled his eyes at the thought. 

“How come?”

“He had this girlfriend. She was a real bitch, but she had him wrapped around her finger. She kept him away from us.” 

“Oh.” Brenda frowned at the dance floor, where they assumed Minho and Teresa were still dancing somewhere. “Is that why you’re so wary of Teresa and I?”

“I wouldn’t say we’re as wary as we used to be with the girls Minho chose. But, you don’t scream ‘massive bitches’, so I think you’ll be alright.” He scoffed slightly, knocking back the rest of his drink and wincing at his burning throat. 

“Well I can tell you that Teresa’s a good person. She’s had her fair share of shitty guys too. Maybe they’ll balance each other out.” 

“I mean it just seems like two good people liking each other. Can’t see any reason for alarm.” Thomas said. 

“I guess so. Looks like everything’s working out for us, huh?” 

“Looks like it.” Thomas smiled. He did feel good. 

Of course, nothing was perfect. Gally was still helplessly pining over Minho, he still hasn’t asked Newt out, and still hadn’t have a job. But, at that moment, he felt like things were going well for him and his roommates. Finally. 

“I wish Newt had come out. I’d like to get to know him better.” Brenda broke his train of thought. 

“I’m sure Newt would like to get to know you better too.”

“How do you know?”

“Newt wants to get to know everyone better.” Brenda scoffed at that. “Maybe I could’ve worked up the balls to ask him out with a little liquid courage in me.” He commented. 

“Maybe.” She nodded. “Thomas, I do hope it works out with you and Newt. He obviously makes you very happy.”

“He really does.” Thomas smiled softly. He glanced down at his phone lit up, frowning a little when he saw that Newt had liked his picture. Newt was awake. 

Thomas contemplated texting him, before deciding against it. He knew Newt struggled to sleep sometimes, and he thought, at this time, it was probably one of his half asleep instagram scrolls before he rolled back over. 

“He is on Instagram.” Brenda commented. “So he would see it.”

“This is his once a week thing.” 

“Well if you posted the picture now, he’d see it.”

“No,” he decided against it, “he’s probably already gone back to sleep.”

“How do you know?” Brenda frowned. 

“Because I know Newt.” He replied with a shrug. “He is my roommate, I know how he works.”

“He got some weird habits then?”

“Yeah.” Thomas scoffed. “He struggles to sleep sometimes. And Gally. They bake together in the early hours of the morning sometimes. Or he just sits on top of the fridge. He says it helps him concentrate.”

“Concentrate on what?” Brenda frowned. 

“I dunno. Newt things. I tend not to question him.”

“Where does he work again?”

“At the craft store.” 

“Oh yeah. I know that place.” 

“Yeah I-“

“Guys!” Thomas glanced up to see Minho, Teresa and Gally pushing past the crowd to get to them. Minho looked panicked. 

“Min’? What’s the matter?” He asked, immediately standing up. 

“Our apartments been broken into.” 


	16. Sixteen

“Newt!” Thomas bolted towards his friend, who turned away from the two people he was talking too- one was a police officer, and the other was someone Thomas could only assume was a translator. 

Newt’s eyes widened and he met Thomas half way, the brunette immediately breathing out a deep sigh of relief when Newt was in his arms. 

His friends came up behind them, panting and swaying slightly. 

‘What happened?’ Thomas asked, when he finally let go. 

‘There was a man- he broke in.’ 

‘Did he hurt you?’ Thomas demanded. 

‘No. I’m just a bit shaken.’ Newt explained. 

‘Thank god you’re alright.’ Gally seemed to breath a sigh of relief.

‘What happened? Did he get away?’ Minho asked, Thomas finally properly prying himself away from Newt, but staying close to him. 

‘Yeah. But the officer said that there were people after him already. He said forensics would come and get fingerprints and stuff. Apparently I have to go with him to the station. To give a statement or give them an idea of what he looks like.’

“You saw his face?” Teresa’s eyes widened after

Minho had translated back to her and Brenda what their friend had said. 

‘Well..not really. I saw his eyes..I know he had some facial hair. But he was wearing a mask.’

‘Did he see you?’ Minho demanded, clearly eager to know what was going on. 

‘Yeah.’

“What??” Thomas practically shrieked. 

‘He was in the kitchen. I was hiding behind the counter, and I looked up, I saw him. I was trying to get back to my room to call the police, but he saw me. He freaked out- I freaked out.’

‘And??’

‘I dunno, I kicked him in the dick and locked myself in the bathroom. I didn’t come out till the police got there.’ He explained. 

“Oh my god.” Gally ran a hand over his face.

“You kicked the possible intruding murderer in the dick??” Minho asked accusingly. 

‘Well what else was I meant to do?? Have tea with him? Yes I kicked him in the dick!’

“Badass.” Brenda muttered. 

‘Do you know if he stole anything?’ Gally asked. 

‘Not really. I don’t know. I haven’t had the chance to look but I know nothing majors been stolen. Like our TV.’

“Maybe he didn’t get the chance.” Teresa shrugged hopefully.

‘Oh he did. I knew something was up for at least fifteen minutes before I checked it out.’

‘Fifteen minutes is a long time to be in someone’s home when you’re stealing.” Minho frowned. 

‘That’s what I thought. He’s clearly not the heartless killer time, he screamed when he saw me. I think he’s probably just some kid who doesn’t know what he’s doing. Maybe he’s being forced.’ Thomas rolled his eyes fondly. Trust Newt to warp the story in a way that made him feel sympathy for the criminal that could’ve murdered him. 

‘I’ll go with you to the police station Newt.’ Minho offered. 

‘Are you sure?’

‘Course.’ He nodded. 

“Do you guys think we should get a cop to do a check of our place?” Brenda asked worriedly. 

“It’s probably for true best.” Thomas admitted. 

“Ok. Well- I hope nothing’s been stolen.” She took Teresa’s hand, who was clearly shaken. “Call us if you need anything.” And they wandered off to find an officer. 

‘You sure you’re alright Newt?’ Thomas checked.

‘I’m ok. Really. Don’t worry about me.’ Newt squeezed his hand. ‘I’m just sorry I ruined your night.’

‘Newt, our home got broken into, and you could’ve gotten hurt. Don’t be sorry.’ Minho scolded. 

‘Did you at least have a good time?’ He asked. Thomas and Gally exchanged a glance. 

‘Yeah.’ Minho took his hand. ‘Come on I’ll tell you all about it on the way.’ And he lead Newt off back towards the police officer, leaving Thomas and Gally alone with no idea what to do. 

-

‘So how did the party go?’ Newt asked, as the two boys sat in silence at the police station, waiting for any news or anything they needed to do. 

‘Well, it went well if you asked me. I’m not sure what Thomas and Gally thought.’ Minho shrugged. He was on edge about the whole thing, seemingly more than Newt- who seemed pretty chill all things considered. 

In theory, a theft would leave anyone feeling shaken, but there was something about the idea of someone being in their apartment, rifling though their most prized possessions, and possibly having weapons to hurt one of his best friends- Minho was understandably stressed. He wanted to know more, he wanted to know every single detail, but Newt had apparently told him all that he knew and his friend was clearly tired. So they changed the subject. 

‘What do you mean?’ Newt asked. ‘Did things go well with Teresa?’

‘Yeah.’ Minho smiled fondly at the thought of the girl. She was beautiful and funny and sweet. Properly sweet. ‘We kissed- I mean- we were getting pretty far until you texted me.’ Minho admitted. 

He was human. He could admit that he was quite wary that Teresa would end up hurting him like Molly did. But Teresa didn’t try to take him away from his friends, he’d decided to spend the night with her of his own free will. She hadn’t insulted him or made him feel stupid. And his friends seemed to like her. 

‘You think she’s good for you?’ 

‘I’m not sure.’ Minho admitted. ‘I hope so. I really like her.’

‘Well, I’m glad.’

‘Thank you.’ He smiled. ‘I hope the girls are alright tonight.’

‘I’m sure they will. They were gonna get their place checked out, it’ll be fine.’

‘Yeah. I know.’ Minho rubbed the back of his neck nervously. ‘I just- I want her to be safe. Maybe I should text her.’

‘If you want.’ Newt shrugged, setting his head against the wall behind him. 

They sat in silence for a while, as Minho got out his phone, asking Teresa if everything was ok, and getting a few replies back sporadically. She was obviously busy. 

‘And Brenda?’ Newt asked. 

‘What about her?’ Minho glanced towards his friend. 

‘I’m not sure. I just saw pictures on Instagram. She and Thomas seemed to be getting along well.’He shrugged. 

‘Oh?’ Minho put his phone down, raising an eyebrow. 

‘They were just, touching a lot. I thought something might’ve been going on.’

‘Why do you care?’ Minho smirked teasingly, and Newt frowned.

‘I don’t.’ He huffed defensively. ‘I was just trying to make conversation.’ He shrugged, turning his gaze back forward. 

‘Ok.’ Minho shrugged, smirking to himself. 

For someone so kind and friendly, Newt really was secretive. Nobody knew if he liked Thomas. They could all speculate, and they were all pretty certain that they did, but Newt hadn’t let anything on. 

He never seemed jealous, never seemed to gaze at Thomas. He never seemed to worry about Thomas on the same level that Thomas did for him. But still, Minho was sure of it. There was something there. 

Newt getting defensive was definitely something. It was a start. 

His train of thought was broken when the same officer that brought them there walked towards them, stopping in front. 

“Alright. Could you come with us please Sir, we’re going to have to get you to describe what this man looks like.”

Newt nodded and stood up, Minho following them into a room. 

He would admit, being in a police station was pretty scary, but being in that room was scarier. He was pretty sure it was an interrogation room that wasn’t in use. The only thing to quell his fears was the smiley woman sat at the end of the table. 

Minho and Newt took their places at one end of the table, the man they were with seating himself down next to the woman. After a pleasant introduction, she cleared her throat. 

“Alright.” The woman picked up a pen and clicked it. “So, from what I’ve heard, the man that broke into your house was masked?”

Newt nodded. 

“Alright.” She frowned slightly. “Could you tell me how tall he was?” 

‘Well, He was about 5ft 6. There abouts.’ Minho translated for them, and the woman scribbled it down. 

“And how much would you say he weighed?”

“About 175 pounds.” Minho explained, Newt clearly concentrating. 

“Can you tell me what his build was like?” She asked. “Was he quite muscular, or quite thin?” 

“He looked quite thin and lanky.” That surprised Minho. He just always assumed criminals were quite big and scary. Then again, Newt did say that the guy didn’t seem to know what he was doing. 

The questioning went on, and Minho stopped paying as much attention. 

He couldn’t believe Newt was so calm about everything. He knew his friend had been a little shaken, but he almost didn’t seem bothered. Minho knew he’d be bothered if there was someone in his house. 

Then again, Newt was famous for hiding his true feelings. He’d have to talk to him about it. 

-

‘Newt.’ Minho glanced at his friend, as they sat in the back of the police car, being driven back to their apartment. 

‘Yeah?’ 

‘Are you ok?’ He asked. 

‘Yeah.’ Newt smiled softly. Minho frowned as he stared intently at his roommates eyes, attempting to see behind the facade, but failing pretty fantastically. 

‘It’s ok if you’re not. You could’ve been hurt today.’

‘But I wasn’t.’

‘But you could’ve been.’ Minho frowned. 

‘But it wasn’t. So there’s no reason to think that negatively.’ He shrugged softly, turning back to face the window. It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it. Which meant it clearly had gotten to him, at least a little bit. 

He gently touched Newt’s arm, who turned back to him with a glance. A ‘please let this go glance.’

‘Newt, come on. You don’t have to cover this up. What happened wasn’t ok. And that’s ok.’ 

‘I don’t want to make a big deal out of it.’ He sighed sadly. 

‘You’re allowed too.’

‘But this isn’t just my issue.’ 

‘That doesn’t matter. You were the one there. Home alone with no one to help you. It’s ok if that’s upset you. You don’t have to downplay this, we understand.’ 

‘I just-‘ Newt dropped his hands. ‘I’m just tired. I’d like to sleep. But I know that’s not going to happen now.’ He rubbed an eye as he said it, and Minho noticed how dark his bags were. 

‘We can sleep in the living room.’ He decided. 

‘What?’

‘Well, I don’t want to sleep alone either. We can get our mattresses, and put them in the living room. We can sleep there.’ He shrugged. 

‘You don’t have to do that for me.’ Newt shook his head. 

‘I’m not. I’m scared too, Newt. We all are. It’s a scary situation.’ 

‘Are you sure?’ Newt asked apprehensively. 

‘Of course I am. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t.’ 

‘Ok.’ His friend nodded, and was quiet for a while. Minho even thought he might’ve gone to sleep with his head on the window, until he turned again. 

‘Do you think Gally and Thomas will want to come too?’ 

‘I don’t see why not mate. You can ask them.’ 

Newt nodded, suddenly seeming incredibly vulnerable and childlike. 

‘Ok. I will.’ 

-

Thomas and Gally got let back into their apartment a few hours later. They were both exhausted, and yet still on edge. 

After the girls had had their apartment checked out, Thomas and Gally had stayed up with them, drinking coffee in silence- a desperate attempt to keep their eyes open.

After what felt like hours upon hours, the police left, and took the evidence they needed with them. 

Gally and Thomas bid their pretty much already asleep friends goodnight, and stumbled back down to their own apartment. 

Thomas opened the door, heart already going faster than it should have been, walking into his own home. 

“It’ll be fine, right? The police were here for hours.” Gally said quietly. 

“And they changed our locks for us. There’s no one here.” Thomas agreed. That sentiment did nothing to make either of them feel any better. 

The brunette wandered up the hall- luckily all of the lights had been left on. Gally followed close behind him as they looked into the kitchen. 

There was nothing there. 

The two of them wandered through their home, peering into every room in a fruitless attempt to quell their anxiety. 

“Do you think Minho and Newt will be home soon?” Gally asked, sitting on the couch. There was no way either of them were going to leave each other and try to sleep in their own rooms. 

Thomas wanted something to do. He felt too uneasy just sitting there. 

“They should be.” Thomas nodded. “Minho told me they were finishing up a little bit ago.”

“I can’t tell if anything’s been stolen. I don’t think it has.” Gally frowned. 

“No. I don’t see anything obvious.” Thomas’ phone went off in his back pocket, making Gally flinch a little. 

He pretended not to notice. 

[Minho: put mattresses in the living room, we’re sleeping in the living room.] 

“Go get your mattress. We’re sleeping in here.” Thomas said. Gally seemed to breathe a big sigh of relief, standing and making his way to the door. 

He paused, and turned back to Thomas. 

“Would you help me? Mattresses are a bugger to move.”

Fifteen minutes and a sweat later, all four mattresses were pressed against each other on the ground, couches and armchair against the wall. It was five am. 

“I am not going to work tomorrow.” Gally groaned, finally flopping down on his bed. 

“No. I’m not sure any of you are. Hell, Newt should probably be getting up right about now.” Thomas hummed, lying on his back. 

The door opened, and Thomas turned his head, watching as an exhausted Newt and Minho made their way through the door. 

‘Hey.’ Newt greeted tiredly. 

‘Come sleep.’ Thomas beckoned him immediately. The blond nodded, toeing off his shoes and flopping down next to Thomas, not bothering to change. 

‘You should call off sick Newt.’ Gally signed over Thomas as Minho came to flop in between. 

‘I will.’ Newt nodded, picking up his phone and sending a quick text to his boss. 

‘How are you feeling?’ Thomas asked, subconsciously turning his back to the others as he addressed Newt.

‘A little exposed.’ Was the answer he got. Thomas could see that. Newt was on the edge of the weird pile, with his back to the front door. 

‘Here. We’ll switch.’ 

‘Are you sure?’

‘If it makes you feel safer.’ Thomas sat up and shuffled over to Newt’s mattress, lying back down on his side, as Newt curled up in the middle. ‘Better?’ 

‘Yes thank you.’ He smiled a little. 

‘How was the police station?’

‘It was ok. I had to give a description of the man. And they asked me lots of questions. But then we came home.’ 

‘And are you ok?’ 

‘Yeah. A little scared. But ok.’ Newt admitted. 

‘A little scared is ok. I think we’re all a little scared.’ 

‘Are you?’ 

‘Well, yeah. I am. It’s a scary thing to have happen.’ 

‘That’s true.’ Newt nodded. ‘Then..maybe we should leave the light on. Just in case.’ 

‘That sounds like a good plan to me.’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAPTER MIGHT BE LATE   
> I got shows every night this week so I will try my hardest to get a chapter out but please don’t yell at me if I don’t manage it. Chapters might be sparse or short for the next two weeks too, I got exams. But I shall try <333


	17. Seventeen

Thomas was the first to wake up. He hadn’t got much sleep- maybe an hour at most. But he’d called everyones bosses for them, and let them sleep. He knew they must be tired. 

He’d woken up with Newt curled into his side. And he’d tried to resist the urge, he really had, but he just couldn’t do it. So there he was, two hours later, with Newt in his arms and his fingers caressing his soft hair. 

Thomas had wondered if Newt would be uncomfortable, but it was Newt- he loved any kind of attention. Thomas was pretty sure he wouldn’t mind. 

-

Minho woke up next. He grumbled out a teasing remark, before mumbling something else about taking a shower and getting up to go to the bathroom. Thomas knew Minho wasn’t exactly a morning person- even though by the time his friend had woken up it was already half twelve, so he just stayed where he was and listened to the distant noise of the shower. 

-

Gally woke up next, Newt only minutes behind him, at about one fifteen. 

“Loverboy.” Gally ran a hand over his face, sitting up on his elbows. “Where’s Minho?”

“Kitchen, loverboy.” Thomas teased back. Gally just huffed and got up, wandering sluggishly towards the kitchen, in what Thomas could only imagine was a search for food. Or Minho. 

-

Newt blinked owlishly up at him a few minutes later, bags deep and grip tightening. 

‘Hello.’ Thomas mouthed. His hands were a bit busy. 

‘Hi.’ Newt yawned back. ‘What’s the time?’ 

‘About twenty past one. Gally and Minho have ordered some pizza. Brenda and Teresa are coming over to help us set everything straight and just make us feel a bit safer.’ 

‘Ok.’ Newt nodded, pulling back slightly in a stretch. Thomas finally relinquished his grip, and sat up himself. He should probably get up. 

‘I’m gonna go get dressed.’ Newt told him, before getting up and disappearing, slightly disjointedly. 

-

Newt looked through his closet with a slight blush on his face, trying not to think about Thomas. 

He picked out a black jumper and some jeans, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and beginning to get changed. 

He wasn’t sure how he felt about Teresa and Brenda being around as much as they were. He did like them, they were sweet! But- there was a part of him that liked it when it was just the four of them, and he knew it upset Gally. Then again, he supposed not seeing them as often as they did would upset Minho. He didn’t want to upset either friend. 

He sat alone for a while after he changed, contemplating everything that happened. Getting robbed was a big deal- and whilst nothing other than some money lying around and a laptop was stolen, it was still a scary experience. 

He wondered if Minho was right.

Newt eventually got up, standing up and padding into the kitchen. He knew he’d left his grandfathers watch their after a late night cooking session. He hadn’t wanted to get cake batter on it. 

He ran a hand over his face, wandering into the kitchen and looking atop the cabinet where he’d left it. 

His stomach dropped. 

Newt began to immediately tear out cupboards and pull out cutlery and kitchen appliances with no care for anything else. 

The rabble quickly brought his roommates rushing in. 

‘Newt what’s going on?’ Minho asked. 

‘I- I can’t find my grandfathers watch! It should be here. It should!’ 

His friends glanced between themselves. 

‘It’s ok. We’ll help you look got it mate. It’s going to be ok.’ Gally reassured. 

-

They searched for an hour and a half. They turned their apartment upside down in a fruitless attempt to find the watch. They searched until there were tears streaming down Newt’s face. 

He knew what had happened to it, in the pit of his stomach. He knew where it was. 

It was all he had left. It was his most prized possession and it had been taken for him. 

‘Newt, it’s ok.’ Gally signed, as Thomas held him close. ‘I’ll come to the station with you. We can report it missing. They’ll find it.’ 

‘How do you know?’ He cried. 

‘Because that’s their job. It’ll be ok Newt, I promise you it will.’ His friend squeezed his shoulder tightly. 

‘You don’t know that they’ll find it.’ He sniffled. 

‘I do. It’ll be ok. I promise.’ Gally reassured. ‘we can go right now if it makes you feel better.’ 

‘Ok. I’d like that.’ He nodded, gently wiping his tears and pulling on his coat. ‘Let’s go. Right now.’ 

‘Ok.’ Gally smiled and squeezed his shoulder again, pulling him towards the door. 

-

The drive there was a silent one for the most part, Newt attempting to recompose himself and calm down a little. 

Gally glanced over at a red light, and sighed sadly for his friend. 

Newt always wore that watch. Gally knew how well he took care of it, cleaning it properly regularly, and never letting it out of his sight. 

Part of him wondered if they could’ve gotten it back, if Newt hadn’t had been so caught up in the moment. He knew his friend would probably be beating himself up about what happened, even though they were getting robbed and dealing with that was probably high on his priority list at the time, along with not getting murdered. 

“Newt.” His friends bloodshot eyes watched his lips. “Please don’t beat yourself up.” 

‘I shouldn’t have taken it off.’ Gally watched him sign from the corner of his eye. 

“You couldn’t have known. It’s not your fault. You came out with your life, and that’s what matters.” 

‘I love that watch so much. It means so much and I just- I want it back.’ 

“We’re going to get it back Newt. I promise.” 

‘How do you know?’ 

“Because. Everyone’s been talking about how shit of a criminal that guy was, he’s most likely left something behind. They’ll get him.” 

‘Ok.’ It was clear Newt was at least skeptical of his claim. ‘Why did you come with me?’ 

“What?” Gally frowned. “I want to help. And you were upset.” 

Newt shot him a look. 

‘You don’t want to see Teresa and Minho together.’ 

Gally sighed.

“Well, yeah. That is true. I guess. But I do actually care about you Newt.”

‘I know.’ He nodded. ‘Do you think they’ll get together soon?’ He asked, running a hand over his face in an attempt to clear some grogginess. Gally hated feeling groggy after crying. 

“Yeah. Probably. I’d be surprised if they weren’t banging when we got back.” He admitted. 

‘You think they’d do that with Brenda and Tommy in the house?’

“I dunno. Depends how drunk they get.” 

‘You think they’ll drink?’ Newt seemed taken aback by that, staring at Gally with a deep frown. 

“Probably. It’s been a fairly stressful two days. Thomas will crack out the beer, and it’ll probably escalate.” 

‘Oh.’ Newt frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“You alright?”

‘Yeah.’ He nodded. ‘Do you think you’re going to be ok. When they get together, I mean?’ 

“I’m not sure.” Gally admitted with a sigh. 

His heart felt heavy just thinking about it. He didn’t want Minho to get with Teresa at all. But at the same time, he felt so guilty thinking like that. Teresa really was sweet, and seemed to make Minho genuinely happy. And who could Gally kid? It wasn’t like he had a chance with Minho, he should just let his friend live his life and chase after a girl he really liked, who liked him back. 

“No. I don’t think I will. But who am I to police Minho’s life. I hope Teresa makes him happy.” 

‘That’s very mature of you.’ Newt hummed. 

“Is it? I think it’s just being nice. I mean- it’s not like I have a chance with him, he’s straight. So, y’know. Teresa makes him happy, who am I to stop them being together?” 

‘No one, I suppose.’ 

“Exactly.”

They sat in silence for a while, Gally sighing softly. 

‘Gally.’

“Yeah?” 

‘Last night, when you were with Thomas and Brenda, did they seem to like each other?’ 

Gally raised an eyebrow, surprised at Newt’s curiosity, and he glanced over at another red light. 

“Well.” He thought back for a moment. “Brenda was very touchy. There seemed to be a bit of flirting, but not anything that would lead to anything serious.” He explained, as he put his foot down again. 

‘So, just, friendly flirting?’ 

“Sure. If you wanna call it that. Why?” 

‘I was just wondering. They seemed to have taken a liking in each other is all.’ Newt shrugged, but his shoulders stayed raised in tension, slightly. 

“What’s it to you?” Gally asked, not unkindly.

‘It’s not. Can’t I just ask about my friends going-ons?’ Newt huffed defensively. 

“Sure. Just thought you might have wanted to ask Thomas about his own going-ons I suppose.” He smiled slightly. 

Newt sighed and hit his head against the rest behind him. 

‘I just- I want him to be happy.’ He signed, rather miserably if you asked Gally. 

“And what about you?” 

‘What about me?’

“Would him being with Brenda make you happy?” 

He could tell Newt was about to hit him back with a ‘this isn’t about me’, but he stopped and sighed. He knew the gig was up. 

‘Probably not. Not straight away anyway.’

“Because you love him?” 

Newt stared at him for a long time, before swallowing and glancing at his lap. 

‘Yes.’ 

“Well,” Gally smiled to himself. Now that he knew it was mutual, surely the two of them were going to get together soon. What couldgo wrong?

“I think you’ll be very pleased to know that I’m pretty sure Thomas doesn’t like Brenda.”

‘Really?’ Newt’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Are you sure?’

“Yeah. As sure as sure can be.” Gally nodded firmly. 

They were silent for a little longer, Newt seemingly content with the knowledge Thomas wasn’t going to be snatched up any time soon. 

‘Should I tell him?’ 

“Sorry?” Gally asked, only catching the last part of his sentence. 

‘Should I tell Tommy how I feel?’ 

“Yeah.” Gally nodded. “If you think you’re ready.” 

‘I thought I was. But- I don’t know. Maybe, we need time to get over the robbery? Slip into routine a little more?’ 

“You shouldn’t wait. There’s no point making up all these excuses, when you could just go for it. Do it! It’ll be great.” He reassured. 

‘How do you know?’ 

“Oh come on Newt.” Gally rolled his eyes, almost slamming his head on the horn at the amount of pure stupidity both of his lovestruck friends possessed. “Have you seen the way he looked at you? The dumbass woke up at least two hours before any of us this morning, and waited until you woke up to stop cuddling you.” 

‘But-‘ 

“As soon as you were upset this morning he hugged you, he switched places with you last night so you felt safer, he hugged you as soon as he knew you were safe, and practically ran the whole way here when we found out we’d been robbed. The dudes head over heels for you.” 

‘You don’t know that for sure.’ 

“Just do it. I’ll be so angry if you don’t.” 

‘Ok. Ok.’ 

-

“Where are Newt and Gally?” Brenda asked once they’d settled at the kitchen table. 

“Newt’s watch has been stolen, so they went to go report it.” Thomas explained. Teresa sighed. 

“Oh bless. Poor thing.” 

“Isn’t there a number you can call for that?” Brenda asked. 

“Yeah, but it’s more for Newt’s piece of mind. It was his grandfathers watch, it means a lot to him. He was really upset.” 

“Well I do hope they find it.” Teresa said softly. 

“Me too.” Thomas nodded. 

“Is it likely? Do you think?” Brenda asked. 

“Well,” Minho considered, setting down beer bottles for all four of them. “There’s a lot of evidence. Like- finger prints and fibres and stuff. I think they just need to find out who’s finger prints it is. Which shouldn’t be that hard. I mean, they are the police, right?” 

“Yeah. But they might have sold all your stuff by the time they’re caught.” Brenda shrugged. Teresa smacked her arm and glared. 

“Bren’, don’t be insensitive.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be. I hope they find it, I do. Especially the watch.” She corrected.

“It’s alright. You’re right.” Thomas nodded. “They’ve probably already sold it. But it’s best to keep hopes up- for Newt’s sake. He loves that watch.” 

“Asshole.” Minho muttered. “Criminals suck, man. Why would you fuck someone’s life up like that. Make them feel unsafe in their own home. Take something special from someone for a couple bucks. It’s fucked.”

“Yeah. It is.” Teresa squeezed his hand. 

“Our lease runs out soon though Min’. If we really wanted to, we could move some new place. For some peace of mind.” Thomas suggested. It had been on his mind for a while- since the break in. 

“I suppose. It’s a hassle.” 

“Well there’s no point staying here if none of us feel safe. There’s gotta be more than one four bedroom apartment in the city.” 

“We should talk to Gally and Newt. No point making plans without the others here.” He hummed, taking a swig of his drink. 

“How did you guys even come to get this apartment together?” Brenda asked. 

“Just saw the same add at the right time I guess.” Minho shrugged. 

“What? And you instantly became best friends?” Thomas scoffed at that. 

“Oh, Hell no. It was not easy sailing to start with.”

“Why not?” Teresa asked. 

“Well, Gally and I hated each other. We’d argue a lot over Newt- it was difficult to communicate with him because we didn’t know sign language. Minho did, but he met a girl pretty quick who wasn’t any good for him, and kept him away from us a lot.” 

‘We’d argue about Newt, we’d argue with Minho about his girlfriend. Minho upset Newt one time, it was just- not great.” 

“How did you fix it?” Brenda asked. 

“I’m not sure really. I suppose it all just...worked itself out.” He shrugged. 

“Well not really.” Minho scoffed next to him over the top of his bottle. “Newt and I had to force you and Gally to talk things out. I broke up with my girlfriend because she kissed you and I taught you sign language.”

“Even though we’d already learnt most of it at that point.” 

“That doesn’t mean it was good.” Minho rolled his eyes.

“Newt knew what we meant.”

“I bet he didn’t. He was probably just being nice.”

“Oh my god Shut up.” Thomas kicked him lightly, taking a swig from his beer.

“I mean, to be fair, Teresa and I weren’t exactly best friends to start with.” Brenda put forward, Teresa groaning. 

“What? Why not?” Minho asked. 

“We were both dating the same guy. He had this weird fantasy thing of two girls fighting over him, so he made us hate each other. Subtly jealousy I suppose. But when we both find out he was cheating on us both, we dumped him together,

threw his stuff out of a five story window.” 

Thomas scoffed. 

“Can’t say I can’t imagine it.”

“Thank you?”

“And you’ve been friends ever since?” Minho asked. 

“Yeah. I mean- pretty much.” Teresa laughed softly, slowly sipping on her beer. 

-

Thomas watched the TV, eyes glazed over. His head was spinning and his vision was blurry. He knew Minho and Teresa had disappeared a while ago to make out or something, and he was vaguely aware that Brenda was on his lap, but he was feeling so groggy he didn’t say anything. 

He wondered what the time was. He thought it had been a while. He thought Gally and Newt should’ve been back by now, or were going to be back soon. 

He hoped Newt was ok. 

He didn’t like it when Newt was sad. 

“Thomas!” He blinked, glancing at Brenda. “Are you even listening to me??” She demanded, slurring her words. 

Thomas nodded. 

“What do you think??” She asked. 

Thomas nodded again. 

“Really?? You think so?” She gasped, eyes widening. Thomas nodded again. “Oh goood! I was worried you wouldn’t feel the same way.” She explained. 

“I do.” He had no idea what she was talking about, but he thought she looked happy so he went along with it. 

“So..I was thinking..” Brenda ran her fingers up to his shoulder, winking at him. Thomas blinked a couple of times. 

“You didn’t finish your sentence.” 

“You know what I mean, you big tease!” She giggled, smacking his shoulder lightly. 

Thomas just blinked. 

“Uh..”

“Come on! Yes or no.”

“Uhhh..” Thomas’ head was pounding, and he wanted to sleep. He wanted to wait for Newt to get back. He had no idea what Brenda was going on about, but she was loud in his ear and he wanted her to stop talking. 

“Yes.” 


	18. Eighteen

His head was pounding. 

Thomas wanted to groan, but it hurt to much and his throat felt like it was closed up. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and pushed himself up onto his elbows, blinking in the slight light coming from behind his curtains. 

“Fuck.” He mumbled, running a hand over his face. Yawning, he glanced towards the time. 

9:07. Not too bad. 

He blinked back at his bed, and noticed a foot sticking out the end. 

That wasn’t his foot, he knew where both of his feet were. Thomas frowned deeply, following the foot upward. 

“Shit.” 

He leaped up, swearing again at his spinning head, and backing away from Brenda. 

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck no no no.” He whispered. 

This could not be happening. 

Not days before he was going to ask Newt out. 

Now he had to let Brenda down. 

But first he needed to find his friends. Gally and Minho would know what to do. Stumbling over himself, Thomas managed to pull on some boxers and a huge hoodie, before practically falling out of his bedroom. 

No one was in the living room, so he stumbled over to the kitchen, where he almost ran straight into Newt. 

“Holy-“ 

His friend let out a small cry, before setting his coffee down carefully and placing a hand on his heart. 

‘Don’t do that! You scared me!’ 

‘I’m sorry.’ Thomas couldn’t look him in the eye. Guilt plagued him. He knew he hadn’t actually done anything wrong- it wasn’t like he and Newt were together. But he felt so awful, like he’d betrayed him. 

‘You’re up early, considering how drunk you were.’ Newt smiled softly. 

‘You were there?’

‘No. Gally told me.’ He explained, before rubbing at the back of his neck. ‘Actually..I wanted to talk to you about something.’ 

‘Is it urgent? I kinda really need to talk to Gally.’ Thomas was desperate to get out of the situation, and desperate to find out what to do. 

‘Well- yeah. It is.’ Newt decided. 

‘Ok. Go ahead.’ Thomas nodded. 

‘Well..you see- I was just thinking..maybe-we.. maybe..it’s just, Gally and Minho have told me that-‘

“Morning.” Brenda appeared, snaking an arm around Thomas’ waist. 

Thomas tensed immediately. 

Like this couldn’t get any worse. 

‘Brenda?’ Newt’s eyes went wide. ‘I didn’t know Brenda was here.’ 

‘Yeah. She just- she stayed over.’ Thomas swallowed tightly. Newt glanced between them, owlish eyes wide. He eyed their hickeys, and nodded at the ground. 

‘It’s- it’s not important. Never mind.’ He backed away toward the other door. 

‘Newt?’ Thomas reached out. ‘Are you sure?’ 

‘Yep.’ His friend disappeared. Brenda hummed, grabbing Newt’s coffee and taking a long sip. 

“Still warm.”

-

Newt was well versed with crying. Especially recently. And as he cried silently into Gally’s shoulder, he wasn’t sure he’d ever feel happy again. 

Gally had been shocked when Newt had burst in, eyes watering and lip quivering. The blond had explained brokenly what he’d seen, and burst into tears. 

He couldn’t believe he’d be stupid enough to think Thomas would like him. Of course he wanted Brenda. Brenda was perfect. 

Brenda was beautiful, and smart and funny and witty and not deaf and a girl. 

He sniffled into Gally’s shoulder. 

‘I’m sorry Newt.’ His friend pulled back slightly to apologise. 

‘This isn’t your fault.’ He wiped at his face with his sleeve. 

‘No. I’m sorry he’s an ass.’

‘He hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s just following his heart.’ Newt replied miserably. 

‘No he’s not, he’s following his dick. His heart wants you, I know it does.’ Gally insisted. 

‘Gally, please. Please don’t. It hurts too much for you to say that.’ He sniffed. 

‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let him get drunk. I should’ve been there. It was a stupid mistake.’ 

‘You don’t know that. I mean- I wouldn’t blame him if he did want to be with Brenda. She’s amazing.’

‘And you’re better than amazing.’ 

Newt scoffed at his lap. 

‘Yeah. Sure.’

‘Newt, please look at me.’ Newt glanced up, eyes puffy and red. ‘I’m sorry that this has happened. I am. I just need you to know that this doesn’t equal your worth. You are amazing and beautiful and funny and smart, and if Thomas can’t see that, he’s an idiot.’

‘I just want to be good enough. For him.’ The blond admitted, incredibly fragilely. 

‘You are good enough. It’s his loss Newt, you’re wonderful. Absolutely amazing. Any man would be so fucking lucky to call you his boyfriend. Thomas missed out, and that’s on him.’ 

‘You don’t mean that.’ 

‘Have I ever lied to you?’ Gally asked firmly. 

Newt shook his head. 

‘Exactly.’ 

-

The air was incredibly awkward that evening. Minho had gone with Brenda and Teresa back up to their apartment. 

When he’d finally stumbled out of his bedroom with Teresa in tow, Gally had had to take him aside and explain what had happened. He’d groaned and cursed Thomas for being a complete thicko sometimes, before readily offering to take Brenda and Teresa home when he realised how awkward the atmosphere was. 

Gally watched the two of them. 

Newt was sat as far away from Thomas as possible, eyes glued to his jeans, that he was picking the threads from. 

Thomas was watching Newt, with one of the saddest expressions Gally had ever seen in his life on his face.

He’d tried to talk to Thomas. He’d pulled him to one side and asked if he wanted to talk about it. Thomas said that there was nothing to say- he’d made a mistake. 

Gally had asked if his mind had changed, and Thomas had firmly told him no, it hadn’t. He still wanted to go out with Newt. 

That plan was clearly going well. 

Gally shot Thomas a ‘talk to him’ look, and the brunette ran a hand over his face, before swallowing thickly and turning his attention towards Newt. 

“Guess what Bitches!” Minho practically kicked the door down, and Gally groaned as Newt glanced up. 

‘What’s going on?’ He asked. 

‘Teresa and I are going out!’ Minho grinned widely. 

‘Yay!’ Newt cracked the largest smile he could as Gally’s heart shattered into a million pieces. ‘I’m so happy for you mate.’

“Yeah Min’, that’s really great.” Gally nodded, gripping the edges of the couch tightly. 

“Took you long enough.” Thomas still offered Minho a smile, despite his bitter tone. Gally knew he was happy for his friend. Just sad because of his own stupidity. 

“Thank you.” Minho’s face was lit up, and Gally couldn’t help but smile softly. He was so beautiful when he smiled. He wanted Minho to smile all the time. 

‘I hope it goes well for you.’ Newt smiled. ‘Better than last time.’

‘I’m sure it will. Teresa seems really sweet.’ Gally offered. He was trying his best. 

‘Thank you.’ Minho smiled. 

The room settled into uncomfortable silence- well, more of an awkward silence than the silence that usually came when the four of them were having a conversation. 

‘I think I’m going to have a shower.’ Newt announced after a minute, pushing himself off the couch and excusing himself. 

The door soon closed, and Gally turned to Thomas. 

“Well? Care to explain yourself?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.” Thomas murmured, slumping defeatedly. 

“What were you thinking??”

“I wasn’t. Clearly.” He huffed. 

“It’s ok Thomas. You were just drunk. This is easily fixed.” Minho reassured. 

“Other than the fact that I’ve let Brenda down, and Newt’s upset with me.”

“Which is a good thing if you think about it. It means he likes you.” Gally appreciated that Minho was trying his best. 

“That’s even worse!” Thomas wailed dramatically. 

“Well it’s happened now. The only thing you can do is set things right and follow what your heart says.”

“I just feel so guilty. Like, I’ve lead Brenda on or something.” The brunette ran a hand over his face. Sitting down next to him, Gally sighed. 

“It was just a one night stand. It’s not your fault if she has feelings. It was agreed to be a one time thing. Right?” Gally really prayed Thomas said yes. 

“I don’t know, that’s the issue. I have no idea what I agreed too- and no idea what I promised her.”

“How??” 

“I don’t know! I was smashed! None of what she was saying was going in my head, so I just kept saying yes to everything.”

“Oh god.” Gally groaned, slumping. 

“Thomas for fucks sake!” Minho cried, throwing his hands in the air. 

“Yeah I know I messed up!” He sighed deeply, frowning at his lap. “Do you think this’ll fuck up my chances with Newt. In the future I mean. Be honest.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure.” Minho admitted. “It might do. It depends how forgiving Newt is. And how trustworthy you can prove yourself to be.”

“I can do that.” He insisted. “I can. I’d be the best fucking boyfriend he’s ever had.”

“Your gonna have to talk to him then.” Gally put out, and Thomas seemed to cringe at the idea. “Nothings going to be put right without communication.”

“I guess I should start working on what I’m gonna say then.” Thomas sighed, pulling himself up and wandering sadly over to his door. “Bye guys.”

“Bye.”

“Don’t stress about it.”

Thomas closed the door. 

Minho sunk against the couch, sighing. 

“What a mess, eh?” He smiled softly. 

“Yeah. I suppose.” Gally nodded. “It’ll all work out though. It’s got too.”

“You really think so?”

“Well I mean..I hope so. You think the gang wouldn’t break up over whatever’s happened. I mean- this is so petty and little?”

“I don’t think it’s petty to them.”

“Well yeah..but it’s not a big deal.” Minho shrugged. Gally frowned at him. 

“How would you feel if Teresa slept with someone you knew the night before you were going to ask her out?” 

“I mean-“ Minho sighed. “Yeah. I’d feel pretty shitty. But they’ll get over it. They like each other too much to stay away from each other.”

“I hope that’s the case. I want it to work out for them.”

“So do I.” Minho admitted. 

They sat in silence for a while, and Gally was about to excuse himself, when his friend spoke again. 

“Gally?”

“Mm?” 

“Why don’t you like Teresa?” He asked. Gally blinked, taken aback. 

“Huh?”

“You. You don’t like Teresa. Why?”

“What gave you that impression?” He put up the defence. 

“You don’t have an issue with Brenda. But you don’t like talking to Teresa. Every time she’s in the room you don’t speak and don’t look at her. So what’s the issue?”

Gally huffed. 

“I haven’t got a problem with your girlfriend.” He said rather snappily. 

“Then why are you getting defensive?”

“Why are you interrogating me?” 

“I’m not interrogating you I just want to know what your problem is.”

“I haven’t got a problem!” He snapped. “Just lay off would you??” 

Minho sat back, jaw set. 

“Do you not want me to be happy? Is that it?” He asked. 

“Minho for fucks sake, get your head out of your ass! Of course I want you to be fucking happy!” 

“Then what’s the problem??”

“The problem is that you always think the worlds against you! Me not liking Teresa isn’t a fucking personal attack! I just don’t like her!”

“Why?! What did she do??”

“Nothing!” They were both on their feet now. Thomas poked his head around the door. 

“Is everything ok?”

“Yes!” They both yelled, and Thomas put his hands up in surrender and disappeared again. 

“You’re such an ass! You’ve never liked any girlfriend I’ve had! You don’t want me to be happy!”

“Oh my god, how childish are you?! The only girlfriend you’ve ever had whilst I’ve known you was an abusive bitch, and no one liked her!”

“But Teresa’s not an abusive bitch!”

“I know that!”

“Why can’t you just be fucking happy for me!” Minho cried. 

“I am! It just hurts!” 

“Hurts?? How does it hurt you?!” Minho scoffed. Gally wanted to punch him. 

“Because- because-“

“Because you hate me??”

“Because I love you you fucking idiot! I’ve been in love with you for months!” 

Minho stumbled backward, eyes wide and surprised. 

Gally just shook his head, as his heart dropped like lead. 

“See? It’s not all about you and your precious girlfriend.” He turned and walked away. 

“Gally? Gally wait!”

He didn’t look back. 

-

Newt sighed. He felt Gally sigh next to him. 

The two of them were lying on the floor, heads against each other’s and staring at the ceiling. 

Gally had told him what had happened with Minho. Newt felt awful, he was sure that wasn’t how Gally had wanted that conversation to go. 

‘We’re not very good at this whole love thing, huh?’ Gally scoffed quietly. 

‘No. I suppose not.’ Newt admitted with a sigh. 

He really had got his hopes up. He really had thought that maybe, maybe Thomas felt the same way. Maybe he had a chance at happiness with him. 

But no. He’d been wrong. 

Of course Thomas liked Brenda. She was so much better than Newt could ever be. And so much less inconvenient to be dating. 

Newt would never be as pretty as that. 

‘Why don’t we just date each other?’ Newt laughed dryly. 

‘What a plot twist that would be.’ 

‘Mhm.’ 

They were mostly in silence, in their own worlds. But they enjoyed each other’s silent company, it made them feel less like absolutely everything was wrong. 

Newt wondered if Thomas and Brenda were official yet. He hoped they were. 

It would make things clearer, and it took Newt out of the equation completely. He knew Brenda made Thomas really happy. He wanted that for Thomas- more than anything he’d ever wanted. Even at his own expense. 

‘Do you think Brenda and Thomas will get together?’ He asked. Gally thought about it for a moment. 

‘No. I think it was just a one night thing. From what I can tell, Thomas is planning to break it off with Brenda pretty soon.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah.’ 

‘Oh.’

That wasn’t what he had been expecting. Why would Thomas do that when Brenda was the person any guy would want to have? 

Maybe it was just a mistake. But it didn’t seem like a mistake. And it didn’t seem like Thomas had any worries about showing his hickeys. He seemed to be proud of what he had done. 

Newt was really confused. He couldn’t figure out wether Thomas was ashamed or proud of it. He couldn’t tell what Thomas wanted anymore. 

He sighed deeply. 

Why did things have to be so complicated? 

 

 


	19. Nineteen

There wasn’t a lot of talking the next day. 

All four of them moved around the kitchen silently only speaking to ask to pass the butter, or move out of the way of the cutlery drawer. 

Newt quickly left for work as soon as he appeared, and Thomas disappeared into his room, moping. 

Minho munched on his toast at the table, avoiding eye contact with Gally and trying desperately to think of what to say.

He felt awful. He knew he couldn’t help that Gally liked him, in the same way that he couldn’t help that he didn’t like Gally, but there was a small part of him that felt incredibly guilty. Maybe not for not liking his friend, but for constantly talking about girls and shoving his relationship with Teresa in Gally’s face. No wonder his friend got annoyed. 

“Gally.” He said quietly. 

“Save it Minho.” His friend sighed, eyes glued to the floor and coffee mug held close. “I don’t want to hear whatever you were going to say.”

“But I was going to apologise.” He said helplessly. 

“That’s appreciated and noted, but I really would rather not talk about it. Like- ever again.”

“Gally- come on, that’s ridiculous.”

“My secret, my rules. I don’t want to talk about it.” He turned and walked away. 

-

Gally really had no desire to talk about it with Minho ever again. Hell, he had no desire to even look Minho in the eye ever again. He couldn’t believe what he’d done, and he knew he’d never forgive himself for messing up the relationship. Because that’s what Gally was certain he’d done- damaged the relationship beyond repair. 

That’s why he didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to be faced with the consequences of what he’d done- ruined the relationship between one of his best friends. 

So he went about his day, pretending everything was fine. Like nothing had ever happened. 

He tired not to think about Minho, instead choosing to focus on Thomas and Newt, and their situation. 

He wondered if they’d work out. Wether Thomas would be able to convince Newt that it was a mistake, and wether Newt would accept his apology. He really hoped things worked out for the better for them. They deserved it. 

Gally went to work, then filling his mind with whatever mindless tasks he had to do: stocking shelves, or serving customers. He watched with a blank stare as a customer snapped at him about the lack of good service, and tuned it out when a mother brought her screaming child into the shop, then proceeded to bless everyone else with the sound for another thirty minutes before she gave up the fruitless search to find ‘that fortnight game’ and left. 

Gally trawled home, a small part of him hoping there’d be some huge disaster that he could focus on, instead of the tension in the apartment. 

When he opened the door, Minho shot up from the table. 

“Gally!” 

..yeah?” He blinked, side tracked by the fact that Minho had seemingly been waiting for him. 

“Please. Can we talk? I don’t want to ignore this.” He pleaded, and Gally sighed and walked past him. 

“Min’, I meant it. I don’t want to talk about it. Just forget I said anything.”

“I can’t do that.” He argued. 

“Why not?” Gally huffed, throwing his keys in the tin on the sideboard and sighing deeply. “Can you not find it in you to save me the damn embarrassment?”

“Why are you embarrassed?” He frowned. 

“Because I admitted that I liked you. Rather..ungraciously.” 

“That doesn’t matter to me.” Minho insisted. 

“Gee, Thanks.”

“No- I mean- I don’t care that it was awkward. I’m glad you said it.”

“You don’t mean that.” He shook his head, making his way toward the kitchen in an attempt to end the conversation. Minho followed him. 

“I do mean that.” He insisted. “And I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Gally sighed, running a hand over his face. 

“Not feeling the same way.”

“Minho don’t be a twat. You don’t have to apologise for that.” He grumbled, grabbing a granola bar. “It’s not your fault and you know it. You don’t have to say that for the sake of saying it.”

“I know, but I want too.” Gally turned to lean against the counter, and Minho looked so hopeful and sad. 

“I don’t want your pity, Min’. I don’t want to be the one who has an unrequited, helpless crush on their straight friend.”

“That’s not how I see you, you know that.” His friend said sadly. “You’re one of my best friends, and I wanted to remind you of that. This doesn’t change anything, no matter how scared you might be that it will.” 

Gally sighed. 

“Fine. Then..I’m sorry too.”

“What?” Minho seemed taken aback. “What for?”

“Being a dick about Teresa. It wasn’t fair, you had no way of knowing.”

“It’s ok.” His friend hummed. “I was going on about her a bit. And she has been around a lot.”

“Yeah. I kinda miss when it was just the four of us.” He admitted. 

“Me too. But I’m not sure that’s going to happen until Thomas and Newt can work out whatever the fucks going on with that.”

“Yeah.” Gally nodded. “If they don’t get their act together I might end up banging their heads together. Someone’s got too, this is going on for too long.”

“Yeah. I mean- they could’ve been together already if Thomas wasn’t the biggest dumbass on the planet.”

“He just needs to not think with his dick. It’s not that difficult.” Gally shrugged. 

“To be fair, he had had several bottles of beer.”

“Still a tool.” 

-

‘Newt!’ Thomas grabbed his wrist on the way past, and the blond turned. He stared coldly at his hand, until Thomas could feel it searing into his skin and he let go. ‘Please? Can we talk?’

‘I didn’t realise there was anything to talk about.’ Newt’s face betrayed no kind of emotion, and Thomas swallowed. 

‘You’ve been avoiding me.’

‘No I haven’t.’

‘Yes you have- come on, don’t play dumb. Please, can we talk?’

‘I have nothing to say.’

‘I don’t like Brenda.’ He blurted out. Newt seemed taken aback for a moment, before he regained his composure. 

‘Ok. And what does that have to do with me?’

‘It means- it’s- I- I thought-‘ Thomas groaned, running a hand over his face.

‘Maybe you should come back to me when you’re slightly more eloquent.’ Newt suggested. There was a hope there, Newt was making sure he knew this conversation wasn’t over. Thomas was stupid, but he wasn’t stupid enough not to pick up on ‘come back to me.’ 

Newt wasn’t really angry. He could tell that. And that was enough for now. 

‘Ok.’

-

Minho took a deep breath, eyes closed. It was finally quiet and peaceful. Gally had gone to bed, and he hadn’t seen Newt since dinner. 

He took a sip of wine, mostly nursing it. He was finally alone, and could finally take some time for himself. 

“Minho!” He jumped and spilt red wine all over his jeans. At least they were black.

“What do you want Thomas?” He sighed, closing his eyes again. 

“Can you help me? You’re good with relationships.”

“Thomas if you’re about to tell me that you haven’t confessed to Newt yet I’m going to strangle you.” He felt the couch dip next to him. 

“It’s not that easy and you know it.” His friend whined. 

“How isn’t it?”

“Because of what happened.”

“Yeah, that’s a Brenda situation. That’s got nothing to do with Newt.”

“But...” Thomas sat back. “He might think we can’t be together because he might not trust me. He might think because I slept with her I’ll cheat on him.”

“And would you?” Minho hummed, sipping his wine again.

“No!” Minho didn’t reply, it was obvious he wanted to say something else. “I- he’s everything I could ever want. I mean Jesus- he’s perfect.” 

“So why are you wasting so much time??” He demanded, opening his eyes and sitting forward. 

“I- I- I just don’t think I’m good enough for him. I just- I just wanted to be good enough for him, but I’m not. I think what happened with Brenda was the universe’s way of telling me that.” 

“Thomas, stop talking.” Minho sighed, rubbing at his temples. 

“Wha- Why?” Thomas looked offended. 

“You’re being stupid!”

“How??”

“Because this isn’t about you. This has nothing to do with how stupid you think you are.”

“..how?”

“Because Newt’s in his room right now, moping. He’s not talking to any of us, and he avoids any conversation with you. Because you slept with Brenda. What does that tell you?”

“..that he doesn’t like it?” He asked softly. 

“Exactly. Because he likes you.”

“..but..”

“None of this has anything to do with whether you think you’re good for him or not. It doesn’t matter why he likes you, because he just does. And if you spend all this time getting caught up about the who’s and whys and when’s that he likes you, then you’re going to figure it out one day and he won’t like you anymore.”

“What If he rejects me, over this though? He might not think I’m trustworthy.”

“Your relationship is like a garbage truck on fire at the moment. No question or confession or date could make it any worse.”

“I guess.”

“I know.” 

Thomas glanced at his lap. 

“Go.”

“What?” His eyes widened. 

“Go. Right now. Go on.” Minho stood, pushing Thomas up and shoving him in the general direction of Newts room. 

Thomas swallowed tightly, straightening his back and glancing back to Minho. 

“Go!” 

Thomas nodded, and knocked on Newt’s door. 

“Thomas.”

“Yes?”

“He’s deaf.” 

“Oh. Right.” Thomas turned back to the doorway, where Newt was standing. “Ah!” 

‘Can I help?’ 

“Oh- Uh-“ He cleared his throat, regaining composure as Minho cringed behind him. ‘Yeah. I was wondering if we could talk.’

‘Yeah. Go ahead.’

‘I mean- I was thinking..in private.’

Newt seemed to sigh slightly, but moved back from his door, letting Thomas in. The brunette swallowed tightly and stepped in, and the door closed behind him. 

-

“What the fuck are you doing?” Gally blinked, dropping his things on the couch. 

Minho had his ear pressed against a glass, shoved up against Newt’s door. 

“Thomas is confessing.” 

“What- really?” His eyes widened and Minho nodded minutely, so as not to move his ear too much. “Maybe you should give them some privacy?”

“But we’ve been waiting for this for a year and a half!”

“Come on.” Gally rolled his eyes, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him away gently. 

“Hey!” Minho protested, not putting up much of a fight. 

“How long have they been in there?” He asked, pulling his friend down on the couch.

“About ten minutes?” 

“Did you hear anything?” 

“No. They were signing.”

“Then- why the glass?” Gally asked incredulously. 

“Well I thought, if I heard crying, it went badly. But if I heard...something else..it has gone well!”

“Ew! Minho!” He scrunched up his nose.

“Oh come on! You can’t tell me you’re not slightly interested!”

“Of course I am. But not to the point where I can’t sit here and wait for them to come out and tell us. If they want too.” He stressed.

“You’re no fun.” Minho grumbled.

“You’re being invasive.” He accused. 

“Well- you’re a prude.”

“I mean true but what has that got to do with anything else?”

“Just thought it was a sick burn. You feel me, fam?”

“Never say that again.”

-

They waited. And they waited. For what seemed like hours. 

And as they waited, Gally got more nervous. He so desperately wanted things to work out for Thomas and Newt. He wanted them to finally be happy- they really did deserve it after everything they’d been through. 

The last thing he wanted was for Thomas to cock it up. Part of him was waiting for the yelling, or the crying, or the slamming of doors. 

But it never came. 

There was silence on the radio, for forty minutes and counting.

Minho had started pacing about ten minutes before, and Gally raised an eyebrow. 

“You’re really invested in this huh?”

“Aren’t you? I mean- how long have they been pining after each other?” 

“Too long.”

“Exactly! I just- I really want it to work out, y’know?”

“Course. But getting all worked up over it’s gonna do jack shit mate.” He reasoned. “Come sit down. Put on a show or something. They’re obviously having a really deep chat in there.” 

“Yeah, too long of a chat. I’ll be eighty-nine by the time they get here!”

“To be fair you don’t look much older.” Minho gasped and threw a cushion at him. 

“How dare you?”

“It’s true!” Gally threw the cushion back at him. Minho’s return was quick. 

“Well you clearly don’t have an issue with it.” They both paused. Minho opened his mouth as his eyes widened, terrified he’d crossed a line, before Gally threw the cushion back at him. 

“That’s only because I’m a desperate bitch!”

-

Ten minutes later, there were cushions strewn all across the room, Gally and Minho both had feathers poking from their clothes and hair, and they were exhausted. 

“Damn. I’m not the young kid I once was.” Minho admitted, panting. 

“Yeah cuz you’re eighty-nine.”

“And you’re an ass.” 

Gally stuck his tongue out at him. 

Minho rolled his eyes. 

The door opened.

Minho shot up, seemingly as a knee-jerk reaction, and Gally’s eyes widened. 

Thomas stood there, face stoic. 

“Thomas?” Minho asked carefully. 

Their friend glanced up. 

“Is everything ok mate?” Gally asked softly. 

“I’m gonna go to bed.” Was the flat answer they got, and the two of them watched in shock as their friend disappeared behind his door. 

They glanced at each other in disbelief. 

Gally shot up too, replacing Thomas outside Newt’s door, and opening it. 

Newt was lying with his back to the door, and Minho followed him in. 

Gally tapped Newt’s shoulder. 

His friend rolled over, with the same stone expression his crush possessed. 

‘Everything ok?’ He asked. 

Gally nodded apprehensively. 

‘Is everything ok with you?’ Minho asked. 

‘I’m tired.’ He explained. 

‘Oh for gods sake,’ Minho groaned. ‘How was the conversation with Thomas?’

‘Min don’t press.’ Gally smacked his arm. 

‘It was fine.’ Newt shrugged. 

‘Fine?? Like, fine good or fine bad??’ Minho demanded. 

‘I’m tired Min’. Can we talk about this in the morning?’

‘Wha- no-‘

‘Yes. Of course Newt.’ Gally intervened, smiling at his friend and pushing Minho out of the room. 

He was as frustrated as his friend clearly was. 

But he could wait. 


	20. Twenty

‘I love you.’ 

Newt watched him for a long time, eyes wide and confused. 

‘What?’ He replied, hands shaky. 

‘I love you.’ Thomas repeated, as confidently as he could. ‘I have for months. Maybe even a year.’ 

‘..but..Brenda?’ 

‘Brenda means nothing to me. It was just a stupid mistake, and it shouldn’t have happened. If I could take it back I would. I was just drunk.’

‘You mean to tell me, that you have no feelings at all, for the gorgeous, witty, kind Brenda? She’s perfect.’ 

‘Well..if that’s what perfect is, I don’t want it. I want Newt.’ He explained nervously. Thomas was slightly aware that Newt hadn’t said anything back yet, and wasn’t exactly jumping for joy. 

‘You don’t mean that.’ His friend scoffed softly at his lap. ‘I’m not worth it Thomas. Brenda’s a sweet girl- and you should be going for her. She likes you. You’d be sweet together.’ 

Thomas’ heart dropped like a stone, and he felt tears immediately prick his eyes. He swallowed a lump down and stood up. 

‘If you didn’t like me like that, you could’ve just said it nicely.’ He turned away, and suddenly Newt has an iron grip on his wrist, turning him back around. 

‘When in that conversation did I ever say I didn’t like you back?’ 

‘You said I’d be better off with Brenda.’

‘Because I want you to be happy.’

‘But..you make me happy.’ Thomas explained, almost like a small, lost child. 

‘Do you really mean that?’ 

‘Yes!’ 

Newt’s lips were on his less than a second later, and Thomas stumbled backward slightly, before catching himself and encasing Newt in his arms. 

The kiss was deep, filled with months of held tongues and lingering glances and miscommunication. 

Thomas could feel his heart pumping a mile a minute, and he was surprised it wasn’t coming up to his throat.

He pulled away, and Newt watched him for a moment. 

‘You can back out. If you wanted to-‘ Thomas grabbed ahold of Newt’s hands, and slowly lowered them. 

‘Newt. I’m not going to change my mind. You’re all I could ever want.’

‘But- what about communication? It’s not going to be easy with me. You know that, right?’

‘Do you think I give a shit that you’re deaf, Newt?’ Thomas frowned. ‘I couldn’t care less. That’s not what makes you so wonderful and easy to fall for. It’s a hurdle I will happily jump, for just a chance to be with you.’ 

Newt looked taken aback, clearly overwhelmed, before he glanced at this hands, and back up. 

‘And you’re sure you have no feelings for Brenda?’

‘Yes.’

‘Not even a spark?’

‘Nope.’

‘Have you told her?’ The blond sat down, Thomas sitting beside him. 

‘Not yet. I thought I’d talk to you first.’

‘Ok. But you’re going too?’

‘I can as soon as we’re done talking if you want.’ The brunette readily suggested. Newt frowned, and slowly shook his head. 

‘So what is this?’

‘You mean, us?’ Thomas asked. The blond nodded. ‘Well, we’re whatever you want us to be.’

‘Uh no, this is a mutual decision.’

‘But you already know my answer.’ Thomas explained. His heart was soaring, and he was on the dictionary detention of cloud nine. ‘I want to be with you. For as long as you’ll let me.’ 

‘I want to be with you.’ Newt admitted. ‘But...is it ok if we take it slower?’

‘How come?’ Thomas asked, not unkindly. 

‘I just- with the Brenda thing, and the robbery thing. I’m kind of fragile at the moment, and I just want to make sure I’m 100% ready for a relationship. I don’t want to rush into things- I want it to work out.’

‘Take as long as you need.’ Thomas reassured. ‘I’ll wait as long as you need me too.’

‘Really? I don’t want to be a pain.’ Newt frowned. 

‘You’re not being a pain. I don’t blame you.’

‘Ok.’ He nodded softly. ‘Thank you Tommy. For being so patient. And- and I’m sorry I was so distant after the Brenda thing. It wasn’t right, I mean- we weren’t even together. I was just jealous. It was petty.’

‘It’s alright.’ Thomas admitted softly. ‘I don’t blame you. Besides- I think, it did feel like I had cheated on you. As much as I was making excuses for your behaviour, I think I knew that you liked me back, and that you were hurt.’

‘It was just bad timing.’ He explained. ‘That morning, in the kitchen, I wanted to confess to you. I was going too.’

Thomas groaned. 

‘I’m sorry. She had such bad timing.’ He ran a hand over his face. The whole situation was a mess. 

‘What are you going to say to her?’

‘I think- well..I’ll just have to tell her I don’t like her like that. That it was a mistake.’

Newt nodded. 

‘She’ll be upset.’

‘I know.’ He sighed. ‘But I can’t get her hopes up anymore than they already are. It wouldn’t be right.’

‘No, no it wouldn’t.’ Newt sighed. ‘I hope this doesn’t ruin things for Teresa and Minho.’

‘Why would it?’ The brunette frowned. 

‘Well- If Brenda gets really upset, and Teresa keeps coming here, they might fall out. And that might affect Minho and Teresa’s relationship. I don’t want that.’

‘Oh.’ Thomas dropped his hands into his lap. He hadn’t thought about that.Swallowing tightly, he frowned. That wasn’t a good thought. He didn’t want that to happen. 

‘But, I suppose there’s no point hypothesising. We just have to wait and see.’ Newt shrugged softly. 

‘Yeah. I suppose we do.’ Thomas shook the terrible thought off. ‘So, would you want to go out sometime?’

‘A date?’

‘If you wanted.’ He confirmed, a little nervously. ‘If you’re not ready, that’s ok- but I I just thought..y’know..’

‘Tommy, I’d love too.’ He smiled. ‘Where are we going to go?’ 

‘Well- we could go out for dinner? I know a little Italian. Could be nice.’

‘That sounds lovely.’ Newt nodded. 

‘Tomorrow?’

‘Tomorrow.’ 

They sat in silence for a little moment, and Thomas heard hissing voices outside the door. He rolled his eyes and turned back to Newt, who quirked his head quizzically. 

‘What?’

‘Minho and Gally are trying to listen.’

‘Oh.’ He smiled a little. ‘Maybe we should pretend it went really badly. Just to annoy them.’

‘What an unlike Newt thing to do. I’m in.’ Thomas laughed quietly. 

‘I’m just gonna look really stoic and ask to go to bed. I’ll tell them I want to talk about it tomorrow.’ Newt grinned. Thomas scoffed. 

‘That’s so mean. I’ll do it too.’ He beamed back. 

-

‘Yes. Of course Newt.’ Gally intervened, smiling at his friend and pushing Minho out of the room.

The light eclipsed as Gally pulled the door shut, and Newt smiled to himself. 

Maybe things would be ok. 

He fell asleep with a soft smile still playing on his lips. 

-

Thomas raised an eyebrow when he wandered tiredly into the kitchen. Minho and Gally were both sat at the table. 

He raised his eyebrow. Those two were never up earlier than him. 

“No more games.” Minho said gravely as he walked in, and Thomas snorted, wandering over to the coffee pot. 

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“Thomas! Did you bang or not??” His friend demanded. 

“Min-“ Gally tried to interject. 

“They’re not telling us anything on purpose, Gally. And I don’t like being out of the loop.”

“If I tell you what happened will you shut your whining?” Thomas asked, pushing the button on the coffee machine and turning to lean against the counter. 

“Yes!”

“Fine.” He sighed. “I confessed, and we talked about Brenda and our feelings.”

“Did the confession go well?” Gally asked, slightly more apprehensively. “I mean- did he take it well?”

“Did he say it back??” 

Thomas shot a pointed look at Minho. 

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. We kissed. And we’re going on a date tonight.”

There was a moment of silence, before Gally and Minho shot up off of their chairs and jumped at Thomas, cheering and yelling like Thomas had just scored the winning goal in the World Cup. 

Thomas laughed as Minho picked him up by the legs, Gally jumping up and down and yelling loudly. 

Newt turned back around as soon as he walked in. 

“Newt!”

‘What the fuck are you guys doing?’ He laughed softly, and Thomas’ heart swelled. He loved hearing Newt laugh.

‘We’re celebrating!’ Minho grinned. 

‘Celebrating what?’

‘You two dumbasses pulling it together and getting it on.’ 

‘We’ve not gotten it on.’ Newt giggled. 

‘But you’re going too!’

‘We’re going on a date.’ Newt pointed out. 

‘And then you’ll come back here, and bang, right?’ Minho demanded. 

‘What would it be any of your business if we did?’ Thomas asked, much to the embarrassment of his date. 

‘Because I’ve been invested in this relationship since the start! I’ve wanted you guys to get together since day one!’ 

‘Don’t be gross Min’.’ Gally grimaced. ‘Where are you getting dinner?’

‘At the little Italian down town.’ Thomas grinned, still very pleased by the fact he was actually going on a date with Newt. 

‘Well don’t worry. I’ll keep Minho out of your way when you get home.’ He rolled his eyes. 

-

‘It’s pretty cold tonight.’ Newt commented as the two of them wandered down the road. 

Thomas had been practically agape when Newt came out for the evening. The blond had insisted that he hadn’t even tried to dress well, but Thomas still thought he looked wonderful in his cuffed jeans and dress shirt. 

‘It is.’ Thomas nodded. 

For some reason he couldn’t place his finger on, he thought things were a little weird. He thought, maybe it was nerves. He wondered if Newt was nervous. Thomas wasn’t sure why he felt as nervous as he did- they’d gone out for dinner before. Maybe it was just because of the ‘date’ label. 

‘Still..I prefer the cold.’

‘Oh? Why?’ Thomas asked, tearing away from his thoughts. 

‘Well, I’ve always thought it was easier to get hotter than cooler. And I hate sweating. When you’re cold you don’t smell bad.’ 

‘This is true.’ Thomas admitted. The walk to the restaurant was mostly in silence, and he just hoped things would go back to how they were before when they settled down and ordered. 

-

Newt snorted into his drink, and he caught Thomas smiling fondly at him over the table.

Newt would admit, he had been a little worried it would be awkward because of the whole ‘date’ thing, but after one glass of wine they were back to how they usually acted around each other. 

‘I’m so stupid.’ Thomas sighed. He frowned. 

‘What? No you’re not. Why would you say that?’

‘I should’ve asked you out so much earlier. Before everything got complicated.’

‘I would’ve liked that.’ Newt admitted. ‘If we could’ve been doing this months ago, I would’ve jumped at the chance.’

‘So, when did you realise you had a crush on me?’ Thomas smiled. Newt hummed for a moment. 

‘Well..when I first saw you I thought you were really cute. But..I think I realised I had a crush on you when you stood up for me against Minho. Or maybe before that. I don’t know. I mean I know that you and Gally both took time out of your day to learn sign language for me, but it was just- something about you.

‘Maybe it was the fact you’d stand up for me, without making me feel..like I couldn’t stand up for myself. You stood up for me because you wanted too, not because you thought I was incompetent. None of you ever treated me any different because I’m deaf, and I thought you were fit so here I am.’

Thomas laughed softly. 

‘Well, I’m glad you feel that way. Gally and Min’ we’re always telling me I was being overbearing when I was protective.’

‘No. I mean- maybe a little, but it was sweet. I knew you had good intentions.’

‘Yeah.’

‘And what about you? When did you realise?’ He asked. 

‘Well,’ Thomas thought for a moment. ‘I’m not sure. It was fairly early on. I don’t think I ever had a moment when I was like “oh I like him”, I think it was more of a..feeling, that I kind of always knew was there.’

‘Aw.’ Newt grinned. ‘That’s sweet.’

‘Well, I do try.’ Thomas shrugged softly. 

Their food was soon set down in front of them, and they ate in reasonable silence- it’s harder to sign and eat than one may think. 

Once they’d both finished, Thomas turned his attention back to Newt. 

‘So how are you doing, at the moment? I know it’s been a pretty hard couple days for you.’ 

Newt sighed softly. 

‘I’m ok. I’m just- really upset about my watch.’ 

‘You don’t know that they won’t find it.’ Thomas offered. 

‘I know. But- y’know, the chances are slim.’

Thomas just hummed. 

‘It was your grandads, right?’

‘Yeah.’

‘You were close?’

‘I mean- he basically raised me.’ Newt explained sadly. He really did miss his Grandad- he knew he would’ve loved Thomas. ‘It would’ve been nice for you to meet him.’

‘Well, if he was anything like you, I’m sure he was wonderful.’ 

Newt smiled softly at that. 

‘Still- I suppose..I suppose the watch doesn’t matter that much. I’ve still got the memories.’

‘Yeah. But, it is nice to have something. A reminder.’

‘I’m just angry at myself.’ He frowned frustratedly. ‘He told me to take great care of it. And I did. I’ve always kept it in the best condition possible. I should’ve thought about it when I saw the thief. It should’ve been the first thing on my mind. It should’ve been my priority.’

‘No, your priority should’ve been keeping yourself safe and calling the police, both of which you did. And you’re here because of it. You did the right thing. What would we do if you hadn’t made it?’

‘I know- it’s just- it means so much to me.’ He tried to justify. 

‘And you mean so much to countless people. You mean so much to me and I would’ve been distraught if anything had happened to you. Please don’t beat yourself up Newt. I know it meant a lot to you but you shouldn’t put it above your own safety.’

‘I know.’ He admitted shyly. ‘I know. It’s just- hindsight is 20/20.’

‘Yeah. Yeah it is.’ Thomas nodded. 

-

The walk back to their apartment was a nice one. The air around them was cool, and their chests were warm with alcohol and passion. 

Newt was holding onto Thomas’ arm as they wandered along. 

‘I’m glad everything’s worked out.’ Newt smiled from his arm. 

‘I am too.’ Thomas nodded. ‘It’s nice. Good. And I think I’m finally content.’

‘No more arguing.’ Newt added. ‘I thought things would be a bit awkward after Gally accidentally admitted. But it turned out ok.’

‘Yeah. Yeah it did.’ 


	21. Twenty-one

Thomas had never felt so hot. 

He wasn’t sure he’d ever felt desire like the desire he felt for Newt- and no one had even taken clothes off yet. 

Newt was running his hands through his hair and kissing him hotly, and Thomas had never been angrier that he hadn’t confessed earlier. 

His hands ran down to the hem of Newt’s shirt and he pushed it up gently. 

Newt just hummed quietly, as a kind of go ahead sign, and Thomas pulled it up gently.

“Thomas! Newt! Brenda and Teresa are here!” Came Gally’s almost panicked voice.

Thomas pulled back immediately, eyes wide and panicked. 

Newt’s eyes fluttered open in confusion. 

‘Everything ok?’ He asked. 

‘Brenda and Teresa are here.’ Thomas mouthed back, because his arms were currently keeping him pushed up. 

‘I thought you talked to her!’ Newt shot up with such speed that he almost head butted Thomas, who sat back on his heels. 

‘Yeah I was going too. But- I just- hadn’t got round to it.’

‘It’s been two weeks!’

‘I know! I’m a pussy!’ Thomas groaned, getting up and trying to make himself look less frazzled. ‘I’m going to do it right now. I promise.’

‘Ok.’ Newt nodded, with no clear desire to follow him. 

Thomas swallowed, and pushed open the door to the living room. 

Teresa and Minho were nowhere to be seen, but Gally was sat on the couch, looking pale and worried for Thomas. 

“Kitchen.” He just said quietly. Thomas nodded, and Gally gave him a nod in solidarity. 

The brunette made his way into the kitchen, where Brenda was sat, tapping thumbs around a mug of coffee. 

“Thomas! Hey!” She grinned. 

“Hey Brenda.” He said quietly, sitting down opposite her. 

“How are you doing?” She asked with a huge smile. 

“I’m doing ok.” He nodded softly, guilt plaguing him. He knew he had to be honest, but that didn’t make it any easier. No matter what had happened, he did care for Brenda, and he wanted her to be happy. “What about you?”

“I’m pretty good.” She smiled. “I’m not going to lie, I can’t stop thinking about you. I don’t want to come off too strong, but I want to be honest. I really can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Oh.” He swallowed. 

“I mean- I don’t know about you, but I’d definitely be up for l doing that again.” He grinned. “It was so great.”

“..you..remember it?” He asked quietly. 

“Well, yeah. Fuzzily. Do you not?”

“No. I don’t.” Thomas shook his head. 

“Oh.” Brenda frowned for a moment, before lightening again. “Well, more of a reason to do it again!”

“Yeah- I mean- about that..” Thomas took a deep breath. “You- you know when we went to that party?”

“Course.”

“And I said I had feelings for Newt?”

“Mhm.”

“Well, they’re still there. They’re not gone.” He was really trying to let her down in the softest way possible.

“Oh.” She faltered slightly. “Well..that’s ok. I mean- we can still be fuck buddies. No feelings attached if that’s what you want.” 

“No- but-“ he took a deep breath. “Brenda, I’m seeing Newt.”

“Huh?”

“I’m dating him- we’re going out.” He explained. Brenda stared at him. 

“What?” She whispered. “Since when?”

“Since about two weeks ago.”

“We slept together two weeks ago!”

“It was the day after that.” He explained. Brenda blinked at him. 

“Oh- Oh obviously it was! You move on fucking quick don’t you!” She stood up, but Thomas kept his cool and stayed in his seat. 

“Brenda, that’s not what happened.”

“You just said it was!”

“No, Brenda. I- I’m sorry. But I never had feelings for you.” He said quietly. 

Brenda stared at him, pale, and slowly sunk down again. 

“But..but you said you wanted to have sex with me.” She said quietly, and Thomas had never felt so bad. 

“It was a mistake, I was drunk. I- I didn’t know it meant anything to you, I thought you just wanted to hook up for the sake of boredom.”

“That’s ridiculous!” She cried. 

“Why?” 

“Be- Because you knew! You knew I liked you, I wasn’t exactly subtle about it!”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t.”

“So- so it meant absolutely nothing?? After all this??” She demanded, clearly upset. 

“Bren’, I’m sorry. I didn’t want it to turn out like this. I was so drunk, I had no idea what was going on. I can’t even remember it.” He defended. That only seemed to make Brenda angrier. 

“And you decided not to tell me this, the morning afterwards?? You let me think for two weeks that we had something going??”

“Bren-“

“And the whole two weeks, you’ve been banging Newt!”

“Brenda it’s not like that.” He tried. “I- I don’t want to upset you, but I told you that night at the party, that I liked Newt. It’s always been Newt.”

“So..so what? I was just, a mistake?” She asked quietly, eyes shining. 

“Yes.” He said softly. “But, I don’t regret it. I wouldn’t change what happened. It’s a part of who I am now.” 

Brenda scoffed, eyes glaring into his very soul. 

“Well I’m glad you can look back on it with great fucking memories. Not all of us have the luxury of having someone else to fall back on.” She snapped and turned away. 

“Brenda, please-“

“Save it Thomas!” She called as she stormed from the kitchen. 

Thomas sighed deeply, running a hand over his face. 

He wasn’t sure that could’ve gone worse. 

-

“I’ll be right back. I can’t believe I’ve never shown you them!” Minho laughed softly, disappearing into his room.

The two of them had decided to sit in the living room when it was evident Newt wasn’t coming out of his room- possibly terrified of Brenda. Minho hadn’t wanted Gally to be lonely. 

And Gally appreciated the sentiment, but he wasn’t sure Minho had quite thought through the plan of his crush and his crushes girlfriend keeping him company, then quickly running off to find photos of him as a child, leaving said girlfriend and him alone. 

“So, how are you?” Teresa asked stiffly. It seemed apparent that word had gotten out on Gally’s little crush. Or he was just painfully oblivious. 

“I’m alright. And yourself?”

“Good.” She nodded. “All things considered.” 

“Good.” He repeated. 

“And how are you after the robbery?”

“Oh, y’know- I’m alright. A little shaken. I suppose.” Gally shrugged. 

“I can imagine.” She said thinly. “So..how do you know Minho? Where did you meet?”

“Here?” Gally frowned- it seemed like an odd question. 

“You didn’t..know each other before you moved in?”

“No. None of us did.” He shrugged. 

“But..how did you know you wouldn’t get murdered or something?” Teresa asked, slightly concernedly. 

“Luck of the draw I guess.”

“Well..” she smiled a tiny smile. “I’m glad you’re not a murderer. I don’t know what I would’ve done without my Min Min.” She grinned to herself- and suddenly Gally wanted to puke. 

“Uh huh.” 

“So..how is Minho?”

“Not to be rude, but why are you asking me?” He asked with a frown. 

“Well I just want to know, from an outsiders perspective. He tells me he’s good, but I want to know how he actually is. Especially after the robbery.”

“He’s fine.” He shrugged. He really didn’t want to talk about Minho as much as they were. Especially not with his girlfriend. “And if he wasn’t, he probably wouldn’t tell me.”

“I thought you two were close.”

“We are. But we don’t really talk about feelings. I think it’s a guy thing.”

“Well, you do talk about some feelings.” She laughed softly. Gally knew it was supposed to be a joke, but he didn’t think it was her place to make a joke like that. He was mad Minho had even told her about that. 

When she saw Gally wasn’t laughing, Teresa retreated, glancing at her lap. 

“It was just a joke.”

“It wasn’t funny.” He said quietly. 

Gally hated this. The tension was tangible, and he had no desire to be involved in this conversation anymore. He wanted out.

“Sorry.” She sighed. “You’re not very good at conversation, huh?” 

Gally opened his mouth to snap back, severely fed up. 

“Save it Thomas!” They both looked up to see Brenda storming from the kitchen tears flooding from her eyes. Teresa shot up, concern written all over her face. 

“Bren’, what’s the matter?” She asked softly. 

“Can we just go- please?” Brenda sniffed, already walking toward the door. 

“I- yeah, ok.” Teresa turned to Gally. “Tell Minho I’m sorry, but Brenda was upset and I had to be there for her. Tell him I love him.” 

Gally just nodded, slightly dumbfounded, and Teresa hurried after Brenda. 

The door slammed shut a few seconds later. 

Minho appeared from his room, holding a photo album and his brow creased in confusion. 

“What’s all the commotion?”

“Brenda and Teresa left.” Gally said, sighing. “Teresa told me to tell you she’s sorry, but she had to be there for Brenda. She said she loves you.” 

Minho just made a noise of acknowledgement, before marching into the kitchen. 

Gally followed.

“What happened?” Minho asked.

Thomas was sat at the table, looking considerably done with life. 

“I told her the truth.”

“Yeah but did you tell her the truth in a nice way?” Minho asked, sitting down where Brenda’s untouched coffee still sat. 

“I said it was a mistake, that I didn’t like her. I told her it was a mistake I wouldn’t change for the world because it shaped us.”

“And she freaked out?” Gally asked. 

“Pretty much. She was saying something about how it was easy for me to say, because I had someone to fall back on.” 

Gally sighed.

“I really don’t get girls.”

“It was just an emotional reaction. I’m sure she’ll be alright soon.” Minho reassured. 

“Doubt they’ll want to come back though.” Gally grumbled. 

“Well, maybe Brenda won’t. But Teresa can always tell us how she’s doing.” Minho suggested, and Gally rolled his eyes. He was more sour about Minho telling Teresa his secret than he would’ve liked to admit. 

“I’m not sure she’ll want to come back either. We didn’t exactly get along.” He muttered snappily. Thomas glanced up at him. 

“What? Why not?”

“Because she knows I like Minho.” Gally huffed, glaring at the man he’d just mentioned. 

“Min’, come on. That’s not cool man.” Thomas frowned. 

“Hey- woah. Can you let me explain myself before you attack me?” Minho immediately put up the defence. “I was asking her for advice. I never mentioned your name. She figured it out because she knew it couldn’t be Thomas or Newt.” 

Gally just grumbled. 

“Whatever.”

And he shut himself in his room. 

-

‘Well, it could’ve gone better. That’s for sure.’ Newt admitted. 

Thomas nodded with a sigh. 

‘But it’ll be ok. We’ve bounced back from worse than this.’

‘Yeah. I know.’ Thomas admitted. ‘You’re right. It’ll be fine.’

‘I’m always right.’ Newt grinned, squeezing Thomas’ hand. 

‘Oh come on.’ Thomas scoffed. ‘Do you think Gally and Min’ are gonna be ok?’

‘Yeah.’ Newt shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Gally’s not got much of a reason to be angry, especially once Minho explained himself. They’ll come round.’ 

‘I just hope this doesn’t affect Minho and Teresa.’

‘I know.’ Newt sighed a little. ‘I’m sure it’ll be ok. It always is.’

-

“Gally, can we talk or are you just going to sulk in your room all day?” Minho sighed, leaning his head on Gally’s closed bedroom door. 

“Min’, can you leave off? I don’t want to talk.” Was the grumbled reply he got. 

“Please Gally. I hate living here when there’s conflict. I won’t be able to sleep.”

“That sounds like a you problem.”

“I don’t even get why you’re mad.” Minho ignored his comment. 

“I-“ Gally seemed to hold his tongue, before sighing and before Minho knew it, he was stumbling into the room where the door had been opened. 

He caught himself and tried to play it off, but Gally scoffed at him and sat down. 

“Are you going to explain?” Minho asked, sitting on the ground, against the wall, opposite him. 

“I’m not angry.” Gally sighed. “I mean- don’t get me wrong, I am by no means happy that you weren’t careful enough to make sure she didn’t know it was me you were talking about.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry.” Minho sighed. 

“I’m just upset..because I feel like I’m ruining things for you.” Was Gally’s soft answer. Minho frowned. 

“What? How could that be true?” 

“Well, Teresa doesn’t like me. And I just worry that I’m going to cause some kind of rift between you too.”

“That won’t happen Gally.”

“She’s a nice person.” His friend ploughed on, ignoring him. “I can see that. But- I don’t know. She made jokes today that just rubbed me the wrong way. And- I just don’t want to be the only one who doesn’t like her. I don’t want you all to hate me, and I don’t want any more arguments between the two of us because of our differing opinions on your girlfriend.”

“What jokes did she make? If they upset you I can tell her not to make them.”

“It was petty.” Gally shrugged off. “She was just saying we did talk about some feelings, if you know what I mean. And she was talking about how I’m not a good conversationalist. I don’t know, I just- don’t think we’re close enough for her to be saying that kind of thing.”

“No. You’re not. And I’ll talk to her about it. Will that make you feel better?” He asked. 

“I mean- well- I guess? A little bit?” Gally rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. I just feel like I’m a pain cuz I haven’t warmed up to her as quickly as everyone else.”

“That’s ok.” Minho admitted. And it was. He didn’t mind in the slightest that his friend wasn’t the most trusting or open of people. “It’ll take time. I’ll admit- we moved into the relationship pretty quickly. It’s ok if you think it’s a little weird.”

“Ok. If you say so. I just don’t want to make things awkward.”

“You won’t. I’ll talk to her and get everything sorted out.” He reassured. “Thank you for telling me Gally. It wasn’t that bad, right?” He smiled teasingly. 

“Yeah whatever.” His friend scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Get out of my room.”

“Yeah, I deserved that.” 

-

Newt glanced at Thomas. 

This was not how he thought his evening was going to go. 

It was their ‘family night’, and, whilst everyone assured him all tensions between everyone in the room were sorted, he still felt incredibly tense. 

Something was in the air. 

‘What is it?’ He asked. 

‘Huh?’ Thomas frowned. 

‘What’s going on? We’re all sat here in silence, even though you said all the tension had been sorted out. What’s going on?’

‘I-‘ Minho frowned. ‘I don’t really know.’ He admitted. ‘Gally and I talked, and I don’t have anything else to say.’

‘Neither do I.’ Gally shrugged. ‘We’re fine.’

‘I’ve got nothing going on.’ Thomas shrugged. 

‘Then why is this so awkward?’ Newt huffed. 

‘I don’t know.’ Minho shrugged helplessly. 

Newt grumbled again, and turned on the TV, so they weren’t in complete silence. 

‘Guys?’ Thomas looked up. 

‘Yeah?’ 

‘I just, I’m not sure I ever told you all that I love you.’ He admitted. 

Newt smiled softly at him, heart full of fondness.

‘I love you all too.’ He said. 

Gally frowned a bit. 

‘Where’s this coming from?’ He asked softly. 

‘Nowhere, I just think it’s good to say sometimes.’ Thomas shrugged. ‘You’re my mates, I want to remind you.’

‘Well- I love you all then.’ Gally smiled. 

They turned to Minho. 

‘You all took turns? And now, you’re all looking at me?’ He scrunched up his nose in disgust. ‘Can’t it just be a kind of..understood thing?’

‘You’re implying that you love us.’ Newt grinned. 

‘Wha- no..’ Minho grumbled. ‘I hate everything about this.’ He huffed. 

 

 


	22. Twenty-two

‘So then I thought- well that’s not true because I know what Ronan told me was fact. So I don’t know why she’s lying to me- but I’m not sure if I should call her out on it or not.’ 

Newt sighed. 

He and Thomas were supposed to be on a dinner date, but Thomas was clearly preoccupied. 

His eyes had glazed over about five minutes ago, and Newt was fed up. 

He had no idea what was wrong with him, but he was getting to the end of his tether. 

‘Tommy, did you catch a word I just said?’ He asked. 

‘Yeah- course babe. I’m listening.’ Thomas replied hastily, blinking confusedly. 

‘What’s wrong?’ Newt asked. 

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’re not listening to me. Somethings on your mind.’ Newt pointed out. 

‘It’s nothing babe, don’t worry.’ Thomas squeezed his hand from across the table. 

‘Don’t lie to me Tommy. You’re thinking about something else. What’s going on?’

‘It’s- I don’t know really. Just got a lot on my mind cuz of the whole Brenda thing I suppose.’

Newt sighed a little. 

‘Have you talked to her?’

‘No. She still won’t reply to me. I don’t think she wants to talk.’

‘Well problem solved then. There’s nothing you can do if she doesn’t want to talk.’

‘I know- but- I dunno. I just don’t think I’ll be able to pull it together till I know that everything’s sorted out.’

‘And how are you going to do that if she doesn’t want to talk?’

‘I’m not sure.’

‘Exactly. You can’t spend your entire life thinking about one problem Tommy. You need to live in the moment. There’s no point worrying about it if she’s not responding- you’ll only make it worse. She probably just needs time.’

‘I know- I just- I don’t know. You’re right.’ He admitted. 

Newt nodded a little. 

‘So you don’t know wether to confront Gina?’

Newt started rambling again, glad that Thomas had picked up at least a little bit of the conversation. 

He felt a little bad for not being able to set Thomas’ problems right, but he knew there wasn’t actually anything he could do, and Thomas should probably stop worrying about it until Brenda picked her phone up. 

He didn’t know how to help Thomas, so he just carried on like normal, hoping something he said would be able to pull him out of his thoughts and-

‘Tommy!’

Thomas fumbled. ‘Yeah?’

‘You’re not listening to me.’ He was getting desperate now. 

‘I’m sorry babe- I am.’

‘Maybe we should just come back here another day.’ Newt sighed. He knew Thomas had a lot on his mind, but couldn’t he set that aside for one date? Thomas always listened to him- the brunette prided himself on it.

‘No! Babe- ok. I’m listening.’ Thomas took one of Newt’s hands from across the table and kissed it gently. 

‘It doesn’t matter.’ Newt decided glumly. ‘I finished what I was saying anyway.’

‘You don’t wanna tell me again?’

‘No. It’s ok.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘Go on. Talk about what you need too.’ 

‘Well-‘

And he went off again, rambling about Brenda. Newt watched sadly. He knew he was being probably ridiculous, but he couldn’t help but feel a little sour over the fact that Thomas wouldn’t stop talking or thinking about Brenda, on their date. 

Maybe he was just being sensitive, and yeah, Newt had been talking about his problems, but at least he was listening. Thomas wouldn’t even spare what Newt was talking to him about a second glance, even though it had been bothering him for weeks. 

Thomas talked about Brenda the entire way home, and Newt just nodded along. When they got in, and Newt shrugged off his jacket, he turned to Thomas. 

‘I’m tired. I think I’m going to go to bed early.’ 

‘Oh. Are you sure?’

‘Yeah. Goodnight Tommy.’ He pressed a small, melancholy kiss on Thomas’ cheek, and disappeared into his bedroom. 

-

Gally almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Minho leaning outside of the game store. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked. 

“Thomas and Newt have gone on a date, so I thought I’d come find you and hang out.”

“I didn’t realise you knew when my shift ended.” Gally grumbled, pocketing his hands. Minho fell into step with him, the both of them already heading in the direction of their usual coffee shop. 

“Ye Of little faith.” Minho grinned. 

“Why aren’t you hanging out with Teresa?” Gally asked, not unkindly. 

“She was at work.”

“Did you talk to her about the other night?” 

“Yeah.” Minho nodded, pushing open the door and letting his friend in before him. “We had a long talk.”

“Oh?” Gally raised his eyebrows, stopping at the back of the short line, and turning to Minho. 

“Basically, I told her the jokes she made weren’t appropriate, and she told me to tell you that she apologises- that she was only making them in a poorly judged attempt to ease the tension.”

“Well tell her it’s ok.” Gally was kind of over it now, having a few days to calm down. “Honest mistake.”

Minho hummed, and turned to order his drink from the cashier. 

Gally quickly did the same, and the barista turned her back to them to make the drinks. 

“Do you think you guys can ever get along?” Minho asked. 

“I don’t hate her Min’. I think she’s sweet. Just- the other night was stressful, and she made some bad decisions. I’m not going to hold a grudge for the rest of my life.”

“That’s good.” Minho admitted. “She told me she doesn’t hate you either.”

Gally scoffed. 

“Are you sure about that?”

“What? Yeah. She’s my girlfriend.”

“Woah really? I had no idea.” Gally gasped, and Minho rolled his eyes, smacking his arm. 

“You know what I mean.” He took the two coffee cups they were given, passing one to Gally and heading over to a table in the corner. “I know she doesn’t hate you.”

“Well- that’s good.” Gally admitted, sitting down. “But- y’know, I’m not sure we’re going to be automatic best friends.”

“That’s ok.” His friend waved him off, taking a sip from his drink. 

“Have you heard anything else about Brenda?” Gally asked. 

“Kinda. I asked Teresa about her, and apparently she’s still struggling. Teresa’s seemed to have gotten it into her head that Thomas doesn’t deserve her, that she’s a strong, independent woman and all that, but I think Brenda’s still wallowing.”

“Maybe we should visit her. Show her we care.” Gally suggested. 

“I mean- we could. I’m not sure she’d like that though. Apparently she’s been shutting herself in her room most of the time since it happened.”

“She won’t even speak to Teresa?”

“Not really. She’s gotten a little better today apparently. So I’m hoping things’ll get a little better soon.” 

Gally hummed for a moment. 

“Do you think she’ll come back to ours ever again?”

“I couldn’t tell you.” Minho admitted. “I hope so. She’s good fun to be around.”

“Yeah. Sweet girl.” Gally nodded. “She seemed pretty beaten up about Thomas though. And girls hold grudges for ages.”

“I’m sure it’ll work out. I think Thomas and her need to have another conversation when she’s back on her feet, and she and Teresa will be back at ours within a day or two!”

“Optimist.”

“Maybe. What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, you don’t know that that’s going to happen. Like I said, Bren’ was pretty upset.”

“Pessimist.”

“Realist.”

“No. You don’t know what’s going to happen.”

-

“What happened now?” Minho sighed. He and Gally had known something was wrong as soon as they’d gotten in. 

Thomas was pacing the living room like a mad man, frown etched deep on his brow. 

“I did stupid shit again. I can’t seem to get it right.” He groaned, running a hand over his face.

Gally slumped on the couch, Minho taking Thomas’ wrist and stopping his incessant pacing abruptly. 

“What happened?” He asked, leading Thomas to sit down. The brunette frowned as he was sandwiched between his best friends. 

“I- Newt and I went out on a date. It was nice, we were getting late lunch. I was really stressed about the whole Brenda thing, I can’t stop thinking about how badly I messed it up. I talked to him about it, and I thought I’d feel better afterwards.

‘But I didn’t, and I kept thinking about it. I couldn’t concentrate, and Newt was telling me about this issue at work that had him really upset, and I wasn’t paying attention. I feel so bad. He’s mad at me.” Thomas slumped gloomily. 

“How do you know?”

“Because we got home at six and he decided to go to bed. He hasn’t come out since.” 

Gally hummed. 

“Yeah. That’s pretty dumb.”

“I know! I just want to get it right, with Newt and Brenda. But I just seem to keep cocking it up.” 

“Well- I think you should talk to Brenda first.” Minho suggested. Thomas and Gally turned to look at him, confused. 

“But that might be in days. And I’m living with Newt.”

“That’s why I said ‘should.’” Minho explained. “I just think- you should tell her how you feel, have an honest conversation, get that all cleared up. Then you can have a conversation with Newt that’s not clouded, and you can apologise without running the risk of doing the same thing again.” 

“I guess.” Thomas said softly. “But I can’t just go to their place. Brenda wants nothing to do with me. She’ll slam the door in my face.”

“Well-“ Minho hummed. “I’m sure Teresa and I could arrange a...coincidental meeting.” He shrugged. 

“This isn’t a spy movie Minho.” Thomas grumbled. “You’re not tricking Brenda. If she’s not ready, I’m not going to force her.”

“Thomas, just go out tomorrow and buy Newt a pastry and some flowers or something. That’ll win him over. Just say you were really sorry and that it won’t happen again. It’s fine.” Gally shrugged. “Then talk to Brenda when you can.”

“That’s a good idea.” Thomas nodded. “I’ll do that. I can go to the bakery downtown.”

“Exactly. Newt’s a sucker for that kind of thing. You can’t do wrong.”

“I really hope that’s true.” Thomas sighed. 

-

Thomas thanked the cashier for the small lemon meringue pie and headed out. He yawned softly. 

It was early, but he’d wanted to get Newt some breakfast and get back before he made some of his own. 

Thomas rounded the corner, and almost smashed into someone, stumbling backwards. 

“I am so sor- Oh! Brenda.” He blinked awkwardly. 

Brenda stared at him wide eyed for a moment, before clearing her throat and glancing down. 

“Hey.” She mumbled. “What are you doing here so early?”

“Oh- y’know- just..getting some breakfast.” That was technically true. It just wasn’t his breakfast. “What are you doing up so early?”

“Well, I was trying to avoid running into you.”She laughed awkwardly. 

“Oh.” Thomas nodded. “Well..then I won’t bother you any more. I hope you have a good day Bren’.” He skirted around her and began to walk back up the street towards his apartment. 

“Wait!” He turned around. Brenda looked conflicted. “Can we get coffee? I’m fed up of this being so awkward.”

-

Brenda sipped her coffee, and Thomas watched. They’d both been sat in silence for about five minutes, neither of them knowing what to say. 

“Look,” She put down the cup. “I’m sorry I reacted so badly the other day.” She explained. “I am really, really happy for you and Newt. All I want is for you to be happy.”

“Thank you.” Thomas smiled gently. 

“Newt’s lucky to have you, and I don’t want to cause a rift in- not only my friendship with you all, but Teresa’s as well. It’s petty, but it hurts. But it’s going to be ok. I think I’m getting over it.”

“You can take all the time you need Bren’. I’m sorry I took so long to tell you, you don’t deserve that.”

“It’s ok.” She sighed. 

“No it’s not. It wasn’t fair of me to even have sex with you and then not talk to you for two weeks. It was shitty and I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you.” Brenda smiled softly. 

“And- I’m sorry I can’t make you happy in the way you want me too.” 

“You don’t need to apologise for that Thomas.” She scoffed softly. “No ones blaming you for not returning my feelings.”

“I know. But i wanted to say sorry. Just for my peace of mind.”

“Ok.” She took another sip of her coffee. 

“So we’re ok?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “We’re ok. Give me another few days and I’ll be ok.”

“Maybe we can hang out sometime? When you’re feeling a little better.” He considered, tiptoeing carefully. He wouldn’t want to upset her. 

“I’d like that.” She smiled softly. “Sounds fun.” 

“Really?”

“Sure.” She smiled. “Now go on. Get back to Newt. He might’ve already eaten by the time you get back with that pie.” Brenda rolled her eyes fondly. 

“Thanks Brenda.”

-

Thomas closed the door to the apartment, and quickly toed off his shoes. He turned around and yelped slightly, when he saw Newt standing about a foot away from him with his hands on his hips. 

‘Morning babe.’ He grinned sheepishly. 

‘What’s going on?’ Newt demanded. ‘I’ve been up for an hour, and Minho and Gally won’t let me eat breakfast. I’m starving!’

‘Sorry.’ He shimmied past Newt into the kitchen, who went after him. He opened up the little box and the blonds eyes widened. 

‘I wanted to get you breakfast. To make up for last night.’

‘Tommy.’ Newt signed slowly. ‘You didn’t have to do that.’

‘But I wanted too.’ Thomas pulled him close, and Newt let him, obviously not angry anymore. Thomas pressed a light kiss to his forehead. 

‘I was a jerk, but this morning, I talked to Brenda. I apologised, and everything’s ok again. So, all my attention’s on you.’

‘Babe..’ Newt trailed off. 

‘I’m sorry I wasn’t listening. I’ll be better. I promise.’ 

Newt smiled softly, and wrapped his arms tightly around Thomas. 

“I love you.” He whispered. 

Thomas’ heart swelled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapters so short yall. Also, I’m sorry to do this so close to the end, but there won’t be any new chapters for the next three weeks. I’m going on holiday, and it’ll be the first one in two years where I haven’t been writing whilst I’m on it lmao, so I think I deserve the break. Thank you for all your support <3333


	23. Twenty-three

Gally heard the door click shut, and voices.

Teresa was there. 

That was ok. He knew she and Minho were going out, so they wouldn’t be there that long- if things got incredibly awkward. 

Besides, Gally had to go to the shops. 

He finished lacing up his converse, before standing and wandering into the kitchen. 

Minho was chatting away to Teresa, making her a cup of coffee as he went. 

“Oh- hey Gally.” He smiled, slightly nervously, when he caught sight of his roommate. 

“Hey Min’. Teresa.” Gally nodded towards the woman, who gave him a small smile back. 

“Hey.” She said softly.

“Going somewhere?” Minho asked, glancing down at the shoes on Gally’s feet. He nodded, opening a cupboard and grabbing the reusable bags Newt had insisted on buying. 

“Yeah. It’s my turn to run to the store. And I don’t want to be left home alone with those two.” He nodded to the kitchen, where Thomas and Newt were cuddled up on the couch. “There’s sexual tension.” He explained. 

“Ah.” Minho nodded. Teresa laughed softly. 

Gally paused for a moment, glancing at the door. He could leave. Things didn’t seem to be awkward. But he wanted to make the effort. For Minho’s sake. 

“Look, Teresa,” He said softly, the woman turning her attention to him curiously. “I just, wanted to apologise for the other night. I’m sorry things were so tense, and I know I came off quite rude. I don’t have an issue with you at all, and if we’re going to be seeing a lot of one another, I just wanted to make sure there was no hard feelings.” He said softly, sparing a glance at Minho to see if there were any obvious signs that he’d said anything wrong. 

“Oh- no, don’t worry about it. I’m sorry too.” Teresa reassured. “I wasn’t very kind to you, and I should’ve been more understanding- I mean, you can’t help the way you feel about Minho. I was rude to you too, in your own home no less. So there’s no hard feelings.”

“Oh. Ok.” Gally smiled softly. He felt a little better. “Well, I’d better get going. I hope you too have a good time.” He said sincerely. 

“See you later mate.” Minho smacked his shoulder with a smile- and suddenly discarding Gally’s pride was all worth it. 

“Bye Gally.” Teresa smiled. 

Gally smiled back softly, and left his home. 

Bottom line, when it all came down to it, he was glad he and Teresa had sorted out their differences. He wanted Minho to be happy, and if being with Teresa, and her getting along with his roommates made Minho happy, Gally didn’t mind. Besides, it could be a lot worse. She could’ve been Molly.

Still, Gally would have to put up with being the fifth wheel, until he could find someone of his own.

It was a good thing he wasn’t in any rush. 

-

‘Yeah, well you’re perfect times 1 million!’ Thomas grinned. Newt just shook his head. 

‘Well, you’re perfect times 1 billion.’

‘Well you’re perfect times 1 trilli-‘

Newt jolted. 

‘Babe?’ Thomas frowned. 

‘Sorry- I just, completely forgot. I got something for you today!’ Newt explained. 

‘Oh, Babe, you didn’t have to do that.’ Thomas smiled gently at him. 

‘Well I did.’ The blond shrugged, ‘stay here.’ He rushed off to his room, and Thomas did what he was told. 

He was still smiling softly to himself. Thomas had really beaten himself up about the whole Brenda thing- Newt was completely right. He really wanted to make things work with his roommate, and he knew it would be easier now without his guilty conscious. 

Newt’s head poked around the door, and Thomas’ smile widened. 

‘Close your eyes and put out your hands.’ 

Thomas closed his eyes and put out his hands.

He heard a gentle rustling, and the floorboards creaking towards him, until something slightly heavy was placed in his hands. 

Thomas felt a tap on his shoulder, which he took as ‘open.’ 

So he opened his eyes. 

A bouquet of vibrant, red roses sat in his hands, looking pristine and- quite frankly, expensive. 

Newt watched his reaction intently, as Thomas’ face lit up. 

‘Oh baby, they’re beautiful.’ He grinned, after he gently set them down in his lap. 

‘You think so? I wanted to get you something nice since you got me breakfast the other day.’

‘But that was an apology breakfast.’ Thomas pointed out sulkily. 

‘I know, but- I don’t need a reason to get you something nice. You’re my- y’know, we’re..romantically involved.’

Thomas just watched on fondly. He knew they weren’t officially together yet. Whilst he saw Newt as his boyfriend, he always had in mind that his roommate had explicitly said he’d wanted to take things slowly, so that was what they were doing. 

He wondered if Newt was nearly ready. 

‘Well, I love them.’ Thomas got up, pressing a soft kiss to Newt’s forehead as he went, before disappearing into the kitchen. 

The blond wandered after him. 

Thomas unwrapped the roses, and grabbed the biggest glass they had- they didn’t have a vase. But, sometimes it felt like they did, because Newt seemed to adhere to the strange British stereotype of drinking out of huge glasses. 

So Thomas filled that up half way with water, and put the flowers inside. 

He tried, half-heartedly to arrange them, but it didn’t really work. 

‘Just put the nice side on display.’ Newt suggested. 

Thomas nodded, and walked back out, to set the decoration on the windowsill to the left of the TV. 

‘There. They’re beautiful.’ He grinned. 

‘Hopefully they’ll make the place smell fresher too.’ Newt commented, in his usual middle-aged mother fashion. 

‘Yeah. We’ll just have to hope none of the others get hay fever.’ 

‘Oh yeah. I didn’t think about that.’ Newt admitted, looking quite distraught. 

‘Well, if they do, we can keep them in our room.’

‘..our room?’ Newt asked apprehensively. 

‘Sorry, I mean my room.’ Thomas laughed awkwardly. ‘Just- feels like our room with how much you stay in it.’ 

‘Oh right. Yeah.’ Newt nodded, smiling a little in an attempt to clear the awkwardness. ‘Maybe..maybe soon we can move some of my stuff into your room.’ He suggested timidly. Thomas grinned. 

‘Y’know, I’d really like that. A lot.’ He smiled. ‘What would we want in there?’ 

-

“No, it’s been amazing Min.’” Teresa grinned, squeezing his hand. 

“Really? You think so?” He asked, wandering up the stairs towards their apartment. 

“Yeah, of course I do. I mean- that food was fantastic. And you know I love your company.” She said softly. 

“Well, obviously. I’m amazing.” He scoffed softly, unlocking the door to his apartment. “You want to come in for a drink?” 

“No, better not. Gotta get back to Bren’. It’s not fair for her to be on her own this long.” She shrugged. 

“Ok. Well, I’ll see you soon yeah?” Minho pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, and then her lips. 

“Of course. Maybe I’ll pop round tomorrow.”

“Sure.” 

“Ok. Bye babe, love you.” 

“Love you too.” 

Minho watched her leave up the stairs, before entering his home and closing the door behind him. 

Shrugging off his jacket, he hung it up on a hanger, and wandered into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and grabbed an apple, when he heard the door open again. 

Glancing around the corner, he saw Gally hooking his coat on the pegs, laden with shopping bags. Minho left the apple on the counter, and went to help him. 

“Oh hey Min- Thanks.” Gally greeted as his friend took some of the bags from his arms. “Have a good date?” 

“Yeah. I did.” Minho nodded. “You’ve been out a while.”

“Yeah, thought I’d go get a drink. Relax a bit.” Gally explained, following Minho into the kitchen and dumping the bags. “Thomas and Newt around?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them. Why?” 

“I bought a lot, thought they might help unpack.” 

“Ok, well I’ll go see if I can find them.” Minho nodded, before leaving Gally in the kitchen to start unpacking. He wandered into the living room, and there was no sign of them. So he knocked on thomas’ door, the only other place they ever were. When what sounded like a mumble came from the other side, Minho opened the door. 

“Oh god!”

Thomas whipped around and practically screamed. Newt yelped and ducked under the covers. 

“Min’, get out!” Minho slammed the door shut, an endless stream of apologies falling out of his mouth. 

Gally rushed in, panic written on his face. 

“What happened??”

“No- it’s ok- I just- walked in when I shouldn’t have.” Gally’s face twisted into a grimace. 

“Oh god.”

“It’s not as bad as you can imagine, but it was pretty bad.” 

Thomas threw open the door, hair tousled and shirt definitely on backwards. 

“Have you ever heard of knocking?” He hissed. 

“I did knock! It’s not my fault you didn’t hear it. I thought you said come in!”

“Well I clearly didn’t, did I?”

“How was I supposed to know that! You’re not the deaf one, I didn’t know you hadn’t heard me!” 

“I was in the moment!” 

Minho scoffed. “I’ll say!” 

“Ladies!” Gally cut the two of them off. “Thomas, we’re sorry for bothering you. We’ll go.”

“It’s fine.” The brunette sighed. “It’s ruined now. What did you want?” 

“We wanted you to come help unpack the shopping.” Gally said. “But it’s ok.” 

“I’ll be out in five.”

“Uh- no, I don’t think so. He’s not touching any of the food, we don’t know where those hands have been.” Minho argued. Gally clubbed him round the back of the head. 

“Dude, Shut the fuck up.” 

-

Newt slowly became less mortified as the night went on- everyone choosing it would be better for their mental health if they pretended that afternoon didn’t exist. 

They were having a fairly chilled out night, beer flowing and TV as background noise. They were discussing their days in turn, Minho currently ranting about some kind of demon pigeon that had almost ruined his date with Teresa. 

‘It can’t have been that fat.’ Thomas scoffed. 

‘It was!’ His friend insisted. 

Newt had been fairly reserved that entire evening: he was content to just watch the conversation, and feel the warmth of Thomas’ body pressed next to his. He liked nights like these: they always reminded him how lucky he was to have the roommates he had- however much they might get on each other’s nerves sometimes. 

Newt thought that they’d all brought out the best in one another. Gally was no where near as shy and introverted as he was when they first met, and Minho had finally settled down- more into the mature adult life, than irresponsible lady killer with no regard for the people he was living with. Thomas had his friends to help him with situations- and the advice seemed to pay off most of the time. 

Not to mention, Newt was thrilled that they were getting along. Of course, there were tiffs (mostly about privacy), but it didn’t feel like a war zone anymore. He often forgot the resentment Thomas and Gally had towards each other, and the discord Molly caused within their home. He was so glad they’d all developed as people and got along like one, small, sign language friendly household. 

‘It was like- the size of a kettle.’ 

‘That’s the most bullshit thing I’ve ever heard.’ 

‘No-‘

‘Guys.’ Newts sudden intervention caught them all by surprise, and they turned to look at him. 

‘Yeah?’ Gally asked. 

He cleared his throat slightly- hoping his voice didn’t come out too strange. 

“I just..love you guys.” 

They all watched him for a moment, before Minho cracked into a grin. 

‘I love you too mate.’

‘Yeah, me too. Love you all, actually.’ Gally added. 

Thomas rolled his eyes. 

‘Saps.’

Newt slapped his chest. 

‘Say it.’ He demanded with a pout. 

Thomas sighed, pretending to be annoyed. 

‘Fine. I love you all too.’

-

Minho felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around. 

‘Oh, hey Newt.’

‘Hey.’ Newt clambered over the back of the couch and sat down next to Minho. 

‘What’s up?’ 

‘I just wanted to ask you about a couple things.’ The blond explained. 

‘Sure, go ahead.’ 

‘So..I know that everything with Thomas is sorted out now, because he apologised to Brenda and then to me. And- I don’t think he’s as distant anymore..but..he keeps going on his phone all the time. And I dunno..I’m just a bit worried.’

‘Worried about what?’

‘Well..he keeps saying he wants to make it work, but there is definitely something going on.’

‘You think he’s seeing someone else?’

‘Well- no.’ Newt frowned slightly. ‘I don’t think that. But there is something going on.’

‘I don’t think you’re going to find out talking to me.’ Minho reasoned. ‘If you’re actually worried, talk to him. Your relationship is never going to work if you keep things from one another.’

‘I know, you’re right.’ Newt nodded. ‘Do you think..do you think it is going to work?’

‘What do you mean?’ Minho asked. 

‘Well, the relationships been off to a kind of rocky start. You don’t think it’s a sign?’ He asked quietly.

Minho frowned slightly, and thought. 

‘I don’t think so. I mean- yeah he’s made some mistakes, but he apologised, and he promised he’d be better. Granted- your worries don’t prove that, but we don’t know that you’re not just over reacting.’ Newt nodded. ‘He really does love you, that’s obvious.’

‘And I love him.’ The blond confirmed. 

‘Well sometimes, there are relationships where both people love one another, but it just takes that extra little bit to make it work. Maybe your relationships like that. Nothing wrong with it.’ 

‘Yeah. You’re probably right.’ Newt nodded. ‘Thank you Min’.’

‘Course mate, no problem.’ He smiled. 

They settled into comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then Thomas bust in the door. 

“Jesus!” 

“Where’s Gally?” He demanded. 

‘What’s going on Tommy?’ 

‘I’ll tell you in a minute, where’s Gally??’

‘In his room?’ Newt blinked, clearly confused and slightly concerned. Minho watched as Thomas nodded, before he speed-walked over to Gally’s room and flung the door open. 

He heard a struggle from inside before Thomas hurriedly dragged Gally out of his room and pushed him down on the couch next to Minho. 

“What the fuck is this all about??” He demanded. 

‘I have an announcement.’ Thomas broke into a grin. ‘I got a job.’

There was silence for a moment. 

‘Really??’ Newt shot up. ‘Tommy that’s great!’ He hugged him tight. 

“Yeah man, that is great.” Minho nodded, a small smile on his face. 

“Finally! Good for you Thomas.” Gally smiled at his friend. 

“Thanks guys.” Thomas was grinning from ear to ear. Newt pulled back slightly. 

‘Where did you get it at?’ 

‘The movie theatre downtown.’ 

‘I’m so proud of you babe.’ Newt kissed the corner of his mouth. 

“Maybe you can watch movies for free.” Minho suggested. 

“I’m not sure that’s how it works.” Gally frowned. 

“You never know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapters late yall


	24. Twenty-four

‘Where are we going?’ Newt asked him again. 

‘You’ll see.’

Thomas had announced to him about two hours before, that they were going on a nice date, and that he should dress up a little. So Newt hurriedly got changed, and was soon after ushered into a taxi- which was unusual. They usually walked. 

And Thomas would still not tell him where they were going. 

Newt hoped everything was alright, Thomas had seemed particularly distant that day- as if distracted or busy. He supposed it might’ve been planning whatever was going on that evening. 

The cab pulled up, and Newt glanced out of the window. They were outside a restaurant- and it looked very, very fancy. 

Thomas quickly payed for the taxi and got out, before helping his date out.

‘Tommy, this looks expensive. Can you afford this?’

‘I put a bit away- from my first pay check. It’ll be fine.’ He reassured, before leading Newt into the 

restaurant. 

They were quickly seated in the corner, and Newt ordered the cheapest thing he could find- a fifteen dollar salad. 

‘This is really nice Tommy. Thank you.’ Newt smiled softly, taking his hand across the table. 

‘Of course. I’m glad you like it.’ The brunette grinned. ‘You look stunning tonight by the way.’ 

‘Well, thank you. I didn’t have much time to put it together.’ He scoffed softly. ‘You’re looking perfect as always.’

‘Why thank you.’ His date grinned. 

‘I swear, you have never had a bad hair day. You just always look- good, when you wake up. It’s so annoying.’ He laughed softly. 

‘It is one of my few talents.’ Thomas shrugged. 

‘Oh shush. You’re incredibly talented.’ Newt swatted his hand slightly. ‘It’s one of the many reasons I’m attracted to you.’ 

‘Well even that’s a shock. I can’t believe I actually managed to get someone as wonderful as you to even look in my direction.’ 

‘I could say the same about you.’ 

‘And you’d be giving me too much credit.’ 

‘I could say the same about me.’ Newt laughed. 

‘Well..’ Thomas withdrew his hand. ‘I thought I’d get you something.’ 

‘Tommy, you didn’t have to do that.’ 

‘Well, I did. And I hope you like it. It’s why I’ve been so distant these past weeks. It’s been a nightmare to track down.’ He laughed softly, pulling a box from his pocket. For a moment, Newt thought he was going to propose, but then realised the box was too big, and let out a sigh of relief. He was not ready for that yet. 

‘Here.’ Thomas slid it across the table. Newt lifted the lid apprehensively, and gasped softly. 

“Oh Tommy..” he whispered. Inside, was a gold watch. A watch that looked exactly like Newt’s grandfathers. 

‘It’s beautiful. It looks just like the original.’ He smiled softly at it, feeling a pricking at his eyes. 

‘Well I would hope so. Considering the fact it is the original.’ 

Newts eyes widened. 

‘What?’

‘It took a while, but it’s your grandfathers watch.’ Thomas smiled softly. 

‘But...how do you know??’ Newt asked, gently taking the watch from its box. 

‘Check the bottom, under the clasp. It’s got the engraving on it.’ 

Newt turned the watch over, and found, his grandfathers initials. His eyes started to well up, and he gently put the watch back in the case before hugging Thomas tightly, as best he could across the table. 

He felt Thomas chuckle softly, and Newt pulled back, sniffling and wiping his eyes. 

‘Where did you find this??’ 

‘Well, I was originally searching for a replica, but I found one that I thought looked a little too similar online. I asked the seller where they’d got it from, and whether I could have a picture of the bottom, to ‘check it was in good condition.’ When I was sure it was your watch, I bought it, and went to the police with it. They searched it for fingerprints, and are working to trace back the account to the robber. But once they were all done with it, I took it back to give to you.’ 

‘Thank you Tommy.’ Newt smiled through his tears. ‘You have no idea how much this means to me.’ 

‘Here, let me help.’ Thomas took his hand and kissed it softly, before taking the watch from its box and gently putting it on Newts wrist again. ‘There, perfect. Back where it belongs.’ 

‘I love you. So much.’ He smiled gently, tears clearing. 

‘And I love you.’ Thomas kissed his hand again. ‘And- I was actually thinking. Maybe this could be a..’do you want to officially be my boyfriend?’ Present?’

‘Yes Tommy. I would absolutely want that.’ He nodded enthusiastically. 

‘Really?’ Thomas’ face lit up like a child. 

‘Really.’ Newt leaned halfway across the table, and his new boyfriend made up the other half, leaning in for a soft peck. 

‘I can’t believe you got my watch back.’ He laughed, almost in disbelief, as he ran his fingers back over the strap. 

‘Well neither could I to be honest.’ 

‘And singlehandedly took down the criminal in our home, even faster than the police.’ Newt scoffed. 

‘Yeah. Of course. I’m your hero after all.’ 

‘You’re a narcissist.’ Newt pointed out. 

‘Maybe, but you like it.’ Thomas shrugged. 

‘Who told you that?’ 

‘Nobody. They didn’t need too. It’s written all over your face.’ He made a circular motion in front of Newts face. 

‘If this is the expression you’re thinking of, then I’m worried you’ve been reading our entire relationship wrong.’ 

‘Hey!’ Thomas huffed. ‘I know a face of pure endearment when I see it, and you, Mister, are wearing it constantly!’

‘Oh no. I’ve been caught.’ Newt smiled. 

‘Indeed you have. I see through your lies.’ 

‘Guess I have no choice but to admit my undying love to this narcissist.’

‘This narcissist is very, very happy to hear it.’ 

‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’ 

-

Gally heard a soft knock on his door, and Newt’s head poked around the corner. 

‘Hey Newt.’ 

‘Hey.’ He side stepped in. ‘Are you busy today?’

‘No, what do you need?’ Gally asked, sitting up. 

‘Well..I was going to go down to that watch place up the road, to see if my watch is all ok. And I wondered if you wanted to come?’

‘Sure mate. Give me two minutes.’ Gally smiled. Newt nodded happily and left him alone. Gally grabbed his shoes and pulled them on, tied the laces, and shrugged on a jacket, before joining Newt outside in the hall. 

‘Let’s go.’ He smiled. 

They locked up the house and left the building, beginning to saunter down to a small jewellers on the corner. 

‘I still can’t believe Thomas managed to find the exact watch.’ Gally commented. 

‘Neither can I. I suppose it was a stroke of luck.’ 

‘Yeah, Maybe.’ He shrugged. ‘You two doing ok? I mean- you must be since you’re together together now, but you know.’ He explained. 

‘Yeah, we’re ok. I was going to talk to him about being a bit distant, but he said it was just because he was trying to get the watch sorted. And he’s been a lot better ever since he gave it to me, so I believe him.’ Newt rambled slightly. 

‘Well, that’s good.’ He commented. 

‘What about you? Anybody on the go?’ Newt asked. Gally shook his head. 

‘No, not really. My love life is fairly dead at the moment.’

‘Well, that’s ok. That just means, when you find the right person, they’ll be really really perfect for you.’ Newt grinned. 

‘Does it? Or does it mean that I’m incredibly inexperienced and might cock up when I do find someone I want to be with.’ 

‘Cock ups are ok. Minho had a cock up. We’re here to help in case of cock ups.’ 

Gally scoffed softly. ‘Thanks Newt.’ 

They got to the jewellers, and went inside. Newt glanced at Gally, and he nodded. 

“Hi.”

“Hello.” The man behind the counter said. 

“My friends watch got stolen a few weeks ago, and he’s managed to get it back, but he just wanted to check if everything looked alright with it.” Gally explained. The man nodded, and glanced at Newt as the blond handed him the watch, clearly wondering why he wasn’t talking for himself. 

“I can check. If you want to take a seat.” He gestured at two chairs against the window, and the two took a seat. The man turned around to what looked like a work bench, and started to fiddle. 

Newt wrung his hands together, and Gally put a hand on his knee. 

‘It’s gonna be ok. He knows what he’s doing.’

‘I know. I just want it to be ok.’ Newt sighed. 

‘It will be. And if it’s not, he’s going to fix it. Don’t worry.’ 

‘You’re right. You’re right.’ Newt took a deep breath, before offering a small smile. ‘I knew I invited you for a reason.’ 

‘Because I’m a wonderful friend?’ 

‘No, because you can speak.’ Newt grinned. Gally gasped and smacked his friends arm gently. 

‘You can speak too!’

‘I know, but I sound absolutely whack.’

‘How do you know? You can’t hear it.’ Gally pointed out. 

‘People have told me before.’ Newt shrugged. 

‘Well you shouldn’t listen to them. They’re wrong.’ He frowned. 

‘I’m trying to talk a bit more. And..I don’t know, I don’t feel as bad about it as I used too. None of you have ever said anything about it.’

‘Because there’s nothing to say. You can’t hear yourself, we weren’t expecting you to be exactly eloquent.’

‘I know. That’s why you’re such good roommates. Cuz you’ve never made a big deal about me not being like you guys.’

‘Well you are like us. The only difference is you can’t hear Minho’s annoying voice.’ 

Newt scoffed. 

‘Besides, all of us knowing sign language is cool. It’s like a secret language. Especially cuz you know a mix between ASL and BSL.’

‘Well, I suppose. In a way.’ Newt laughed softly. 

“Alright,” the man turned back around, and Gally and Newt stood up and went back over to the counter. “Your watch is completely fine. A little bumped, but almost invisible unless you know what you’re looking for.”

“Thank you.” Newt said. 

Gally grinned at him. 

-

“Why do you look so giddy?” Thomas asked. Minho sighed happily. 

“Oh, y’know. Just got off the phone with Teresa.” He smiled as Thomas sat next to him on the couch. 

“Sap.” His friend teased. 

“What? Like you aren’t whipped as well?”

“Yeah, but I don’t go around smiling like a giddy idiot when I get off the phone with him.”

Minho shoved him. 

“No, you live with him so you look like a smiling giddy idiot all the time.” 

“Do not.” He argued. 

“Do too.”

“Do not.”

“Do too. The other night when you two got together, your cheeks looked like they were hurting from smiling too hard.”

“Wha- shut up!” Thomas shoved him back. “I just..love him. Ok?”

“Hey man, I’m not judging. I love Teresa too.” Minho shrugged. 

“What have they turned us into?” Thomas scoffed. 

“...loving boyfriends?” 

“Well..yeah.” He hummed. “Speaking of boyfriends, do you know where mine is?” He grinned slightly at the idea that Newt was his boyfriend. 

“Yeah, went to the jewellers to see if his watch was ok.” 

“Well I already did that. He should’ve asked, would’ve saved him the trouble.” Thomas hummed. 

“Yeah right. Like that would stop him from double checking.” Minho scoffed. 

“Yeah, true.”

“I mean, I don’t blame him. It’s a fucking miracle that watch even ended back here in the first place. I can’t believe you found it.”

“Neither can I to be honest. It took bloody ages. I was constantly on my phone- I was in this bidding war for it with this asshole.” 

“Oh so that’s why you were on your phone all the time.” Minho commented. 

“Huh?”

“Well, Newt came to me a little bit back, told me something was going on with you. He said you were really distant. I told him to talk to you about it, but I’m going to take a wild guess and say he didn’t do that.” 

“No, no he didn’t.” Thomas sighed. “I really wish he’d talk to me when he was thinking things like that.”

“Well maybe you should tell him that.” 

“I will.” Thomas decided. 

“Isn’t it all cleared up now though?” Minho asked. 

“Yeah. I told him when I gave him the watch back it was why I’d been so busy, and I’ve been giving him my full attention. To be honest, I almost gave up on the watch. I really hated how much it was taking me away from Newt.” 

“Well, I may not have been there, but I can see how happy you’ve made him. Was it worth it?” 

“Oh, 100%. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Thomas grinned to himself. “But, enough about me. How’s things with Teresa?”

“Well y’know, it’s pretty good.” Minho nodded. “All things considered. We’re back on track now she’s not spending all of her time looking after Brenda.” 

“That’s good.” Thomas noted. 

“Yeah. I am, really, really happy. I mean- she is the best girlfriend I have ever had. And..I just- looking back on everything, especially Molly, I just have no idea how I let that shit slide, y’know?” 

“Maybe cuz you had nothing to compare it too and you were love sick?” 

“Yeah,” Minho sighed. “Probably. But I should’ve known. I could’ve been having a healthier relationship from day one. I didn’t need to go through all that bullshit. Especially because of how it fucked my relationship with you guys up, before it had really even begun.” He explained. 

“To be fair, you didn’t really have much of a reason to listen to us. I mean, we barely knew you.” Thomas scoffed. 

“Still, I should’ve known you were more trustworthy than Molly.” 

“Maybe, but that’s all in the past. Now you’ve got Teresa.” 

“Yeah, and I’m really happy with her.” He smiled. “Maybe we should go on a double date.”

“How would that be fair? What about Gally?” 

“He can come too.” Minho shrugged.

“And fifth wheel?”

“No, he can bring a date too.”

“Like who?”

“Uh..like Brenda.” Minho decided. 

“Oh great, so basically the whole gang going for a meal. That’s fine by me, as long as you’re paying.” Thomas shrugged with a scoff. 

“If that’s what it takes to prove I am the alpha male of the group.” 

“Wha- excuse me??” Thomas gasped. 

“You heard me, squirt.”

“Don’t kid yourself Min’. We all know the alpha male of our group is Teresa.”

“Well-“ he paused, and sighed. “Yeah. You’ve got me there.” 

-

‘Babe?’ Newt glanced up and shuffled away slightly, so he could see what Thomas was signing. 

‘Yeah?’ He pulled the covers up to his shoulder, and watched Thomas in the darkness. 

‘Minho told me today that you were feeling like I was quite distant.’

‘Oh. Well..yeah. But it’s sorted now.’ He pointed out. 

‘Well, yeah, but you should’ve told me.’ Thomas explained. ‘You need to talk to me when you feel like that.’

‘I know. I was going too.’ Newt insisted. ‘It just never felt like the right time. I’m sorry.’ 

‘It’s ok. But promise me you’ll tell me if you feel like that again?’

‘I will, I promise.’ Newt agreed. 

‘Ok, good.’ Thomas nodded, pulling him close again. 

‘And you’ll tell me if you ever feel like that?’

‘Yeah, of course. I will.’ Thomas nodded. ‘But I haven’t so far. I don’t think I will.’ 

Newt nodded, satisfied with his answer. 

Then Thomas sighed. 

‘What’s wrong Tommy?’ He asked. 

‘I just- feel bad. You’ve never made me feel like that. But I’ve made you feel like that, more than once.’

‘Yeah, but it’s ok. One time was because you were worried about a friend, and the other you were getting me something I really loved. That’s understandable, and more than makes up for it.’ 

‘Are you sure? You’re not just saying that?’

‘No, I’m not just saying that. I mean it.’

‘Ok.’

‘You make me so, so happy Tommy. And..and even if sometimes we have to work a little more than most people to make things work, that’s ok. I don’t mind. Sometimes that’s just how things are.’ 

‘You think?’ Thomas frowned slightly. 

‘Yeah, I do. Sometimes relationships take a little more TLC to work, and that’s ok.’ 

‘Well, yeah. I suppose you’re right.’ He hummed. 

‘I know.’ Newt grinned. 

Thomas rolled his eyes and kissed his forehead in the darkness. 

‘I love you Newt.’ He signed slowly, smiling down at him. 

‘And I love you Tommy. Lots and lots and lots.’ 

‘Well, that’s good to know.’ Thomas chuckled softly. 

‘Yeah, it is.’ He agreed happily. 

‘And there will be no more being distant. Ok? I promise.’ Thomas insisted. 

‘I believe you. And if there is, I’ll talk to you about it. I promise.’ Newt smiled softly. 

‘Ok. Good. That’s good.’ Thomas finally seemed satisfied, and pulled Newt even closer, closing his eyes. Newt tucked his arms up to his chest and cuddled close to Thomas. 

They lay there for a few minutes in silence, before Thomas sighed deeply. 

‘Tommy? What’s wrong?’ He asked. 

‘I can hear Minho and Teresa going at it in the next room.’

Newt giggled, and patted his chest. 

‘Well, have fun with that. Goodnight Tommy.’ 

Thomas hit the wall hard a few times, then waited for a moment, before settling into sleep with Newt in his arms. 


	25. Twenty-five

“I don’t want you to move away.” Teresa pouted softly across the table. Minho smiled softly and took her hand. 

“We’re not. We don’t even know if we’re going to do it yet. But we wouldn’t be moving far. Just up the road to a bigger apartment.” Minho explained. 

“But whyyy?” Teresa whined. Minho knew she wasn’t really mad. “Don’t Thomas and Newt want to move in with each other or something anyway?” She asked. 

“They already live together.”

“No, I mean without you and Gally.” She explained. Minho scoffed. 

“No babe. They just got together. It’ll be a while yet.” Teresa groaned. 

“But I don’t want you to go.”

“You won’t even notice I’m gone.” He reasoned. “And, like I said, it might not even happen. So don’t get all worked up yet.” He gently kissed her hand. 

“Why did you want to move in the first place?” She asked. 

“Well, we just thought the extra space would be nice. And I don’t think any of us have slept particularly well after the break in. I suppose it would just be a new start..where no one has been stolen from.”

“But someone could have been murdered there.” She teased. 

“You could literally say that about anywhere.” Minho pointed out. She sighed softly. 

“I know. I just don’t want you to go. I’ll miss you so much.” 

“Babe, seriously, you’re over reacting. I won’t be more than a ten minute walk away.” He smiled reassuringly. 

“But I’ve gotten used to hearing your go to the kitchen at 3 AM for a sandwich.” She giggled softly. 

“Why would you bring that up?” He huffed, pretending to be annoyed. 

“Because its an example of the little things I’d miss, if you were to move away.” Teresa reasoned. 

“This was always going to happen babe. I couldn’t stay living in the apartment underneath you forever.” 

“Why not?” 

“Well- What would we do when I decided I wanted to live in the apartment above mine, with you?” He asked. Teresa blushed red. 

“You mean that? You’d want that?” She asked softly. 

“Of course, at some point. I’d love that.”

“Well..maybe I can forgive you for wanting to move away if you promise it won’t be for long. And that when you get back, you’ll move in with me.”

“Fine, that sounds like a reasonable deal.” He grinned, shaking her hand. “I doubt Brenda will be happy.”

“Well, Brenda’ll probably be gone by then. She’s got lots of men going after her. I think she’s seeing one at the moment.”

“Well that’s good. Good for her.” Minho hummed. 

“Yeah, I know right.” Teresa smiled. “She’ll move out as soon as things get serious. She seems to have found a guy that’s as forthcoming as she is.” Teresa mused. 

“Well that’s good. I’m glad. She deserves that.” Minho smiled. She nodded. 

“What do all the others think about moving?” 

“Well, they seem pretty happy with the idea. As much as we love one another it feels like we’re constantly falling over one another in that apartment. It’d be nice to have our own space.” 

“Honestly I don’t know how you all manage. I mean, Brenda and I barely manage with the space we’ve got, and we have half the people in our home than you do. No wonder it took so long for you all to get along.” She scoffed. 

“When you put it like that.” He laughed softly. “You’d think it would’ve pulled us apart, but it seems to have made us closer.” 

“Physically.”

“Exactly.” 

-

‘Is that all?’ Thomas asked, putting his hands on his hips. Newt straightened, wiping a hand across his forehead and letting out a deep breath. 

‘I’m pretty sure it is.’ 

‘That’s good.’ Thomas nodded, glancing around Newt’s room, which was now placed neatly inside boxes. ‘You’re sure you haven’t left anything out?’

Newt glanced down, before deciding to take his watch from where he’d been keeping it safe in his pocket, and placed it in a box carefully, nestled between soft clothes. 

‘Is that safe enough?’

‘I think that’s perfectly fine baby.’ Thomas reassured, pressing a soft kiss to his head. ‘It’s all going to go perfectly smoothly.’

‘You don’t know that.’

‘Well I’ve put it out there now, so it has to happen.’

‘Or it means the opposite will happen.’

‘Pessimist.’

‘Yeah right. I’m the biggest optimist you know.’ Newt pointed out. 

‘Then why are you being pessimistic about this?’ Thomas asked. Newt sighed. 

‘I don’t know. I’m just nervous I suppose. I want it all to go well.’ 

‘And it will,’ be reassured, kissing Newt’s head again. ‘You’ve got me. And Min’, and Gally. Everything will go alright.’ 

‘Yeah. You’re probably right.’ He admitted. 

‘I am right.’ Thomas grinned. 

‘Yeah, sure.’ Newt rolled his eyes. 

‘Come help me finish up my room.’ Thomas patted his shoulder, before taking his hand and leading him to his bedroom. Newt nodded and followed him. 

Thomas’ room was basically done, minus a few books and nick-nacks here and there. So the two of them began to pack the things away. 

Thomas could tell Newt was quite sad to leave. And so was he, the apartment had been good to them. But he wasn’t as nervous as Newt- the new apartment was lovely, and so much more spacious. He knew they’d be alright, despite Newt’s anxiety. 

Thomas finally taped up the new box, and stacked it on top of the others, ready to go in the morning. 

‘It’s gonna be alright babe.’ Thomas assured, seeing a frown on Newt’s brow. 

‘I know. I just- I’m sad to see it go.’ He explained. ‘I look forward to being able to sleep.’ He laughed softly. 

‘Me too. And we’ll finally be in a room together.’ 

‘Yeah. A big one for all of our stuff.’ Newt smiled. 

‘Exactly. And we’ve got out plan for where we’re going to put everything. We’re going to make it really nice.’ 

‘Yeah we will.’ Newt smiled. ‘I’ve got lots of ideas.’

‘I’ll trust you with the interior design then.’ Thomas smiled. He would leave Newt to it, if it meant calming his boyfriends anxieties by being able to be creative with how their room looked. 

-

Gally put the last box in the removal van, and pulled the door shut. 

‘There, I think we’re all done.’ He grinned. 

‘Do we have to sleep in sleeping bags?’ Newt asked. 

‘Yeah, on the floor. It’s not very comfortable.’ Minho huffed. 

‘I mean you can go back to your parents tonight I guess, but my parents live in another city so that’s not an option for some of us.’ Gally explained, crossing his arms. 

‘You could come back to mine!’ Newt offered with a smile. 

‘Noo!’ Thomas protested. ‘It’s our last night in this apartment, we have to spend it together!’ 

‘On the floor?’ Minho raised an eyebrow. 

‘Yes! If that’s what it takes!’ Thomas huffed. 

‘We could spend the night at mine? There’s enough sofas and stuff.’ Newt offered. 

‘It’s not the same.’ Thomas crossed his arms. 

‘I know babe, but the others don’t want to sleep on the floor.’ The blond tried to reason. Gally sighed deeply. 

‘Fine. I’ll sleep on the floor if it makes your toddler ass happy.’ He prodded at Thomas, who looked very offended but very pleased at the same time. 

He looked expectantly at Minho. 

‘Wha- no way!’ He huffed. 

‘Come on Min’,’ Gally nudged him. ‘It’ll be fun.’

‘We have very different ideas on what fun is.’ Minho huffed. ‘I’m not sleeping on a dirty floor!’

‘It’s not dirty I cleaned it yesterday!’ Newt gasped, offended. 

‘It’s still a floor! And lots of people have been coming and going today.’ Minho was adamant. 

‘Fine. Then we’ll have our last night in the apartment without you.’ Thomas huffed. Their friend looked reserved, and slightly annoyed. 

‘I don’t want you to do that.’ He admitted. 

‘It’s floor or nothing.’ Thomas grinned, knowing he was close to winning Minho over. 

‘Or, he could sleep in the bath.’ Newt suggested. 

‘Neither are very comfortable.’ Minho sighed. 

‘That’s not our problem. You suffer with us if you want to be one of us.’ Thomas put his hands on his hips defiantly. 

‘Bit dramatic but ok.’ Gally commented. 

‘Ugh, Fine!’ Minho gave in. ‘If I must. You rats.’ He groaned, before stalking back inside. 

Gally grinned at the two of them. Thomas was beaming. 

And their last night began.

-

‘I’m so uncomfortable.’ Minho groaned. 

‘Just shut up and have some pizza.’ Newt rolled his eyes fondly, throwing a box towards his friend. 

Minho grumbled something under his breath, but tucked into the pizza anyway. 

Newt sat back on the floor, tucking into his own pizza. 

‘Your roll.’ Thomas nodded at Gally, who nodded and rolled the dice. They had managed to grab a board game from one of the boxes on top, and it was the only thing keeping them entertained- because the TV had been packed. 

Gally moved up the board after his roll, and Minho took the pizza off of his lap and shunted back towards the board. 

Thomas’ phone lit up, and he held it to his ear. Newt didn’t bother watching his lips- if it was important Thomas would explain once he got off of the phone. 

Minho rolled a fairly shitty number, and Newt giggled when he saw his friend swear and move only two spaces up the board. 

Newt stuffed the last of the crust on his slice into his mouth, before taking the dice and rolling a five. He grinned and moved up the board. Glancing towards Thomas, he noticed that his boyfriend had a large smile on his face. Newt watched him hang up the phone. 

‘What are you looking so pleased about?’ Gally asked. 

‘They caught the thief.’ Thomas beamed. 

‘Really?’ Minho’s eyes widened. 

‘Awesome!’ Newt grinned back. ‘We should celebrate!’ 

‘How?’ Gally chuckled. ‘We have no alcohol.’ He pointed out. Newt pouted slightly- this whole moving thing was proving quite difficult. 

‘I could go out and get some.’ He suggested. 

‘It’s late, and not worth it.’ Thomas frowned. ‘It’s ok babe, this is celebration enough.’ He reassured. 

‘How?’ Minho asked incredulously. ‘I mean- this isn’t exactly relaxing.’ 

‘No,’ Thomas admitted. ‘But it’ll be worth it when we’ve moved in.’ He decided. 

‘Well, until that happens, I’ll rely on alcohol.’ Minho huffed. ‘I can’t believe we didn’t even keep one bottle out.’

‘Min’, don’t be a baby. You don’t need alcohol. It’s not even that stressful.’ Gally scoffed, lying out on his sleeping bag. 

‘My body requires the best of comfort.’ Minho announced dramatically.

‘Well, I’m not sure it’s going to hold out for a couple days.’ Newt grinned. 

‘Man down, looks like we have to carry on without him.’ Thomas sighed. ‘What a shame.’ 

‘Why did I ever decide to move in with you all? You’re all horrible to me.’ Minho huffed. 

‘We’re not, you’re just a big baby.’ Gally laughed. 

‘Oh come on guys, don’t be mean. He’s gonna miss Teresa.’ Newt reasoned softly. Minho nodded, suddenly sadder. 

‘Yeah, yeah I will. But she’s only going to be up the road. I can still walk to and from.’ He explained. 

‘I wish we could’ve seen Brenda before we left.’ Newt admitted. 

‘Teresa said she and Bren’, would come round to see the new place once we were all set up. You don’t have to worry. She’ll be back.’ 

‘That’s good.’ Thomas hummed softly. 

Newt yawned softly and nodded. 

‘I think I’m done playing tonight. You guys can finish without me if you want.’ He explained, before getting into his sleeping bag and lying down. 

‘Nah, I’m done too.’ Thomas retreated, soon coming up next to Newt and encasing him in his arms. 

Minho nodded, and helped Gally pack away the board, before they both slipped into their sleeping bags as well. 

Newt sighed softly in the darkness. 

He would miss the place. 

-

They breathed a deep sigh of relief when they all flopped down onto the couch. Newts back was aching, and Minho had been complaining all day about breaking several nails. Gally’s hands were red and sore, and Thomas’ feet felt like dead weights. 

‘There. It’s done.’ Gally sighed in relief, looking around their new apartment. 

‘Thank god.’ Newt cuddled into Thomas’ side. ‘I thought we’d never finish it.’

‘Well, we’ve still got boxes to unpack, but-‘ Thomas began, before Newt pushed his hands down gently. 

‘Don’t remind me.’ 

Thomas chuckled softly. 

‘Ok.’ He kissed Newt’s forehead. 

‘I still think we should’ve got people in to help us. Maybe then my nails would still be with us.’ Minho sighed, at his ‘butchered’ nails. 

‘Since when did any of us have the money for that?’ Gally asked, rolling his eyes. 

‘We should’ve saved up!’

‘We saved up for the apartment you dumbass.’ The two squabbled. 

‘Your nails will grow back Min’, it’s ok.’ Newt smiled softly. 

‘I know, but still.’ He grumbled. ‘I’m saving up for a manicure next.’ 

‘Don’t we need to save up for next months rent?’ Thomas pointed out. 

‘God dammit!’ Minho groaned. Thomas scoffed. 

‘Why don’t you ask Teresa? She might know someone?’ Gally suggested. 

‘Uh- are you stereotyping Gally?’ Minho accused jokingly. 

‘Oh shut it. You know I’m not.’ He rolled his eyes again. 

‘I think you are! You know they won’t be happy.’ 

‘Shut up man. If I was stereotyping I’d tell you to stop worrying about your nails and go be a man.’ Gally argued back. 

‘Yeah well..’ Newt stopped watching their argument, and glanced up at Thomas, who was watching amusedly. 

‘Tommy?’

‘Yeah?’ Thomas glanced down at him. 

“I love you.” He whispered. 

“I love you too.” Thomas smiled, kissing him gently. 

Newt decided that yeah, he would miss their old place. 

But he was excited for the next chapter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s all for now folks! Thank you for sticking with me through this six month fic, I know it’s not as exciting as some of my others. Keep an eye on me account, I’ll be putting out a statement on it in the next few days! Thank you so much for all your support, I love you all! <3333


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